Another Side, Another Story
by Shinobi of the Onyx Sands
Summary: Years after they leave Hogwarts and move on with their lives Hermione decides to show Ron a side of herself that no one knew existed when they were all back at Hogwarts. Hermione-x-Cho. Rating is for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1: Another Side of Things

Hermione smiled as she found what she had been looking for down in Diagon Alley. She smiled as she paid for it and walked over to Quality Quidditch Supplies where her husband Ron was. She noticed that Ron was with their friend Harry Potter looking for a broom for Harry's son James. Hermione smiled and said, "Hey there Harry, good to see you again. How's Ginny?"

Harry smiled and said, "She's doing just great. She's over getting everyone's books. Albus starts this year and James here got picked to play for Gryffindor this year. You're playing Chaser right James?"

James nodded, wrapped up in checking out the multiple brooms in the shop. Harry smiled and said, "What's that you've got there Hermione?" pointing to the parcel she was carrying.

She smiled at him and said, "It's a Pensieve. After hearing you talk about the one Professor Dumbledore had back when we were in school, I thought about getting one, you know, to make sure I don't forget all of our adventures at Hogwarts. Although I doubt anyone could forget all of that. Anyway we must get going. We need to get everything ready for our daughter Rose to go to Hogwarts this year. I can hardly believe it's been this long, and not to mention we have children of our own now."

Harry said with a bright smile as he hugged Hermione goodbye. "Too long Hermione. You and Ron should really stop by more than just once a year. Ginny would love it I'm sure."

"Right Harry, like Ginny loves unexpected company."Ron said with slight sarcasm. "We'll keep in touch for sure. We'll be seeing you down at Platform Nine and Three Quarters soon enough. I just hope that git Malfoy has taught his child to be less of a git than he was. I doubt it but one can hope."

Harry gave Ron a good-natured hug and wished them both well as they left the shop. Ron smiled at Hermione as they walked toward the Leaky Cauldron. "So other than preserving all of our odd adventures at Hogwarts, what's the reason for the Pensieve? It can't be just for that Hermione. You trying to store all you ever learned and make a book?"

"No Ron, I just...wanted to show you something from my years at Hogwarts that I don't think either you or Harry ever knew." She said looking at the Pensieve and then the ground.

"What? That whole Time-Turner thing in Third year? I think you've told us all about that one." Ron said quizzically.

"No, it's something that happened between me and someone else at Hogwarts from second year until halfway through sixth year." Hermione said matter-of-factly, trying not to tell Ron everything.

"Oh really? Between you and who?" Ron prodded, trying to get an answer.

"Cho." Hermione said quietly.

"Hang on, did you just say Cho? As in Cho Chang from Ravenclaw?" Ron said incredulously.

"Yes, now keep your nose out of my business until I decide to show it to you." Hermione said in a falsely huffy tone.

Ron sighed and said, "Alright then. I know when not to argue you on things."

The two of them Apparated home. After all it was much easier than fighting through the Muggle Underground. Their house was a nice cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole, not terribly far from where Ron had grown up. They had sent their children off to spend the remainder of the holidays with Ron's parents so that Ron and Hermione could get everything ready for the trip to the Hogwarts Express. Hermione gently set down the Pensieve and told Ron to come over. "What I am about to show you Ron, spans almost four years of my life that you never knew existed, or rather I kept hidden from you and Harry. I think though that it's time to tell someone about it." She said calmly.

"Why did you wait all this time to tell me about this? What on earth happened between you and Cho?" Ron asked.

"I guess I just wanted to be sure about how I really feel about the whole thing. As for what happened, well you'll see for yourself." Hermione said as she gently tapped her wand to her ear and drew out a silvery strand and put it in the Pensieve.

She sighed and let them both sink into the memory of the past.

-Second Year at Hogwarts-

Ron immediately recognized the scene as it came into focus. It was just after their first class with Gilderoy Lockhart. They had just finished up with the pixies that Lockhart had brought in and Ron could hear his younger self loudly complaining about what a brainless git Lockhart was for bringing pixies into class. He could also see Hermione following a short distance behind both Harry and himself. He saw someone tap her on the shoulder. Hermione turned around and saw Cho Chang.

"Hi, I'm Cho Chang. I'm a Third Year in Ravenclaw." Said Cho sweetly.

Hermione had a surprised look on her face, "Umm, Hi. I'm Hermione Granger, a Second Year in Gryffindor. Is there something I can help with you? I mean, help you with?" She hadn't gotten tongue tied in years and was surprised by how easily Cho had made her nervous.

Cho giggled and said, "You know as far as the girls go here, you're rather pretty, you know that?"

Hermione looked at her in surprise. It sounded to her like Cho was hitting on her. It simply made her all the more nervous, "I...uhh...you can't mean that. There are much prettier girls here than me."

Cho took a step closer to Hermione and smiled, "Not to me there aren't. To me you're the prettiest of everyone. I have a simple question for you. Would you be willing to take a walk with me down by the lake this evening?"

Hermione's thoughts raced with how to answer that. Normally she could answer any question in no time flat and often times cite the exact page and paragraph from the book she got it out of. This time however there was no book to help her. She stuttered again and said, "S-sure. What time were you thinking?"

Cho smiled and said, "Around seven. Meet me in the Great Hall then. See you later Hermione."

Hermione stood there in shock as Cho walked off. It took her a moment to gather herself and then she ran to catch up with Ron and Harry. The two of them were still talking about Lockhart's class. Ron turned to face Hermione and said, "Where the bloody hell have you been? One minute you're behind us the next it looks like you went and done a runner on us."

"Sorry, I stopped to check my notes from Mr. Lockhart's class." She said as she lied to cover what had just happened. She could feel herself blushing.

"Oh are you still harping on about him? Oh perfect Mr. Lockhart just wanted us to get some hands on experience. He didn't mean us any harm." Ron said, imitating Hermione poorly. "That git and his damn pixies cost me my homework for Transfiguration. Now I got to rewrite the bloody thing."

Hermione sighed and tried not to rise to Ron's bait. She had far much more on her mind than Lockhart's failed class and Ron's destroyed Transfiguration homework. Her mind was on what Cho had asked her. Why on earth had Cho asked her to go out for a walk? Hermione thought to herself. A bang from Ron's near broken wand broke her out of her thoughts. He swore at it and stuffed it back into his bag, the wand making a low whistling noise. The trip back to their dorm was otherwise quiet. Hermione sat reading until it got closer to seven o'clock. She got up and made to leave the common room. "Where're you going Hermione?" came Harry's voice from behind her.

She smiled and said, "Out for a bit to the library."

Harry nodded and headed back into the boys dorm. Hermione ducked out of Gryffindor Tower and headed for the Great Hall. Standing near one of the statues trying to look like she was doing something was Cho. Hermione took a breath and walked over to her. Cho turned and smiled when she saw Hermione walking toward her. "I'm glad you really came to meet me. I thought about it afterward and hoped I hadn't made you too nervous."

Hermione smiled and inwardly sighed as she relaxed a little. "I was kind of nervous Cho, to tell you the truth. I'm still wondering why you asked me to take a walk with you."

Cho smiled and gestured toward the door. "Come with me and you'll find out why I did."

The two of them made their way out onto the grounds, the sky still as cloudy as it had been earlier that morning. It was pleasant enough though as the two walked toward the lake. They walked in relative silence. Cho was smiling happily, looking like she was lost deep in her own thoughts. Hermione was changing her attention back a forth between Cho and the grounds around her as she mulled over her own thoughts. It didn't make rational sense to her why another girl would ask her to walk down to the lake.

They slowly made their way down to the lake's edge and walked around it a short distance. Cho stopped at the edge of the lake. Hermione noticed that where they were wasn't easily seen from anywhere. Cho turned to face Hermione and smiled. "Now I believe I owe you an explanation as to why I brought you here, but first I want to hear what the prettiest and smartest girl in the school thinks the answer is."

Hermione looked at Cho and her thoughts slowly came upon only one conclusion. She spoke slowly, thinking her response through, "Cho the only reason I can think of as to why you asked me down here is because you fancy me."

"You really are Hogwarts' smartest. You're perfectly right of course. It's so odd that just last year I didn't know who you were and then the whole thing with Potter happened. Suddenly everyone was taking notice of you, Ron and Harry. I think that's when I really started to take interest in you. I tracked down as many photos of you as I could, I simply had never seen you but with all those rumours flying around I wanted to know the truth. I'm sure it's odd to hear all this from another girl right?"

"It is and it isn't at the same time." Hermione said, "I've seen you playing Quidditch before, well more like watched you practice. You're one of Ravenclaw's Seekers right?" Cho nodded and Hermione continued. "You always look so graceful on your broom when you play."

"Thanks for the compliment Hermione. There was more than just telling you I like you that made me ask you down here. I was wondering, "Cho had a shy expression cross her face as she asked, "Would you be willing to come and meet me to watch the sunset when classes allow it? I guess you could call it a date. We could always bring food and eat down here by the lake."

Hermione nodded and said, "Sure, of course. It sounds interesting. I'll look forward to it. In fact I'm free tomorrow around then, what about you?"

Cho sighed and said, "We might be done Herbology by then. What do you say I meet you in the library?"

"Sure" Hermione said.

Cho smiled and gave Hermione a hug. Hermione was a bit surprised by it but soon returned the hug. After a minute she had gotten over the fact that Cho had hugged her. In fact she was enjoying it. They held hands as they walked back to the castle gate. They parted ways in the Great Hall and as they did Cho gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow evening Hermione." She said sweetly.

Hermione was too taken aback about the kiss to reply but Cho knew she'd be there. Hermione walked back to Gryffindor Tower in a slight daze. Her mind was racing with thoughts of Cho's parting kiss and tomorrow. She didn't notice how far in a daze she was until the portrait of the Fat Lady asked her the password and Hermione absentmindedly said, "Cho."

The Fat Lady told her she was wrong and refused to open for her. Hermione recover from her daze and immediately said, "Wattlebird."

The Fat Lady swung open and chided her for forgetting such a simple thing. Hermione almost walked right into Ron as she entered the common room. "Oh, sorry." She mumbled apologetically.

"It's okay. You said you were going to the library earlier but I don't see any books." Ron said with a puzzled look on his face.

Hermione panicked inwardly as she thought of an excuse. "I...uh...did all my reading at the library. I was reading up on our Transfiguration homework and finished it there."

Ron smiled and said, "Good, you can help me rewrite mine."

"Nothing doing Ron. You need to do that homework yourself. Now if you'll excuse me I'm going to head for bed." Hermione said as she turned to walk up into the girls' dorm.

Ron had walked off in a huff but Harry had just walked down from the boy's dorm and stopped Hermione before she went up the stairs. "You didn't go to the library did you Hermione?" he asked.

"I'm not telling you anything Harry. It's none of your business where I go around here anyway." Hermione said, slightly annoyed with both Harry and Ron for being so nosy.

Harry walked off as soon as he figured out that Hermione didn't want to discuss things. She walked up into the dorms and tried to sleep. Her thoughts were keeping her awake though. She couldn't bring herself to stop thinking about Cho. She got up and wandered out of Gryffindor Tower. Hermione had to make sure that she didn't run into Filch as she walked around in Hogwarts' maze like corridors. She soon found that she had wandered clear across the castle to Ravenclaw Tower. She was surprised to hear a statue ask her a question instead of asking for a password. It asked, "Golden in colour am I and small wings give me flight but not touched by human hand am I until the one who is allowed to catches me. What am I?"

Hermione thought it over for a second and then answered, "The Golden Snitch."

A doorway into the Ravenclaw common room opened and Hermione cautiously walked in. It was against rule to be out of one's dorm after a certain time and Hermione was sure it would be even worse to be found in another House's common room. As she quietly walked in, she noticed there was someone near the fireplace sitting in a chair. Hermione saw that it was Cho sitting there. Cho turned to see who had just walked in and in a surprised tone said, "Hermione, what on Earth are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"I answered a question, that's how I got in." Hermione said trying to keep her voice low, "As for why I'm here I don't really know. I couldn't sleep and went for a walk and ended up here. The reason I couldn't sleep was I kept thinking about you Cho."

Cho smiled and said, "Well since you're here and all, you can spend the rest of the night but we'll have to get up rather early to beat everyone out of the tower and get you back to the rest of the Gryffindors. We'll also have to share a bed, just so you know."

"That won't bother me. I just need to get some sleep." Hermione said as she yawned.

Hermione and Cho made their way to Cho's dorm room quietly, trying not to disturb the other sleeping Ravenclaws. The both climbed into Cho's bed and Hermione snuggled into Cho as they both relaxed to sleep. Hermione was sound asleep in moments. Her thoughts of Cho were helping her sleep now that she was right next to her. Cho put an arm around Hermione as they slept and the night slowly drifted by. It was only the start of something neither of them could have imagined.

(Author's note: Well for once I thought I'd try something out of the ordinary for me. Usually you'll find that I write fanfiction for anime and manga. Well this time around I wanted to throw what I do for fanfiction at something else as a change of pace. So I picked the Harry Potter series. Pairing Hermione and Cho actually took a lot of thought to make work. Not only to make the story enjoyable but to also try and capture how Rowling had these characters written, thus explaining all the British English. Hopefully you all enjoyed reading this. Feedback on it would be greatly appreciated.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Start of Something Good

Early the next morning Hermione stirred as she was being shaken gently. A quiet and gentle voice from next to her said, "Come on Hermione, you need to get up and get down to breakfast before one of the Prefects finds you here. I have no idea how many House points we'd both lose if one of the Prefects found you here."

Hermione groaned and stretched. As she rubbed her eyes she clearly saw where she was and instantly recalled the previous night. She looked at Cho, who had been the one speaking to her. She became a bit more alert at seeing she was still in Ravenclaw Tower. Still half awake she got up out of bed and Cho and her quietly left the girl's dorm and headed for the exit to the Ravenclaw common room and into the school proper. They were just about to leave when Professor Flitwick happen by on business with one of the prefects. The short Charms professor stopped in front of Cho and said, "Good morning Miss Chang. Good morning Miss Granger, I do hope our dorms were of some service to you last night. I'll let it slide just this once though girls. Miss Granger, should I catch you in my House's common room again I shall take ten House points away from both Houses. Be glad Professor Snape is not the Head of Ravenclaw. I doubt very much he'd be inclined to let you out of his House's common room with anything less than fifty points from Gryffindor and a detention."

The two stood there in surprise at Filius Flitwick's generosity. Both Cho and Hermione thanked him as they left the common room. They were soon laughing about the whole thing by the time they had made it down to the Great Hall. Hermione found it odd to walk into the Great Hall with someone other than Ron and Harry. Hermione spoke to Cho quietly as they walked into the Great Hall, "Thank you Cho, for letting me spend the night with you. I do hope Professor Flitwick isn't mad at you for it though. I would hate to get you in trouble with your House's Head. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you this evening then, unless we run into each other earlier."

"I'll meet you here after Herbology. Professor Sprout told us it might run late today, so I might be here a little later than I usually would be. If Professor Flitwick hadn't seen us you would have been welcome to come up to Ravenclaw Tower anytime, well as long as you could solve the riddle our entrance gives but that probably isn't an issue for you." Cho said as she gave Hermione a quick parting kiss before walking over to the Ravenclaw table.

Hermione froze in surprise. She had just been kissed for the first time in her life. She slowly worked her way to the Gryffindor table in a bit of a daze. Cho had surprised her once again. It took Ron poking her in the arm to break her out of her reverie. She smiled at Ron and Harry who had both just walked up to the table. "Where on earth were you this morning? Ginny says you weren't in the girl's dorm this morning and I know she's mentioned you're a late riser." Ron said looking at Hermione with a questioning look.

"I couldn't sleep is all. I was out in the common room reading until I heard people getting up and then walked out to breakfast before anyone else. That answer your question?" Hermione said, trying to create something believable.

Ron sighed and mutter to himself as he set about eating breakfast. Owls soon started pouring into the Great Hall delivering mail. A medium sized barn owl set itself in front of Hermione with a letter. Hermione took it and the owl flew off. On the outside it simply said, 'Do not open in front of anyone else but you.' Hermione looked at it, puzzled and quickly excused herself. Ron yelled after her but Hermione ignored him. As soon as she was by herself she opened the letter. It was from Dumbledore. It simply said, "You are to come up to the headmaster's office before first class. The matter of your being in Ravenclaw Tower is the reason for this letter and its instructions. You are not in trouble. Be prompt. Signed, Albus Dumbledore."

Hermione sighed heavily as she read it. She then slowly made her way over to the Headmaster's office. As she got closer she noticed that Cho was right behind her. She slowed down and asked her, "You got a letter about it too I take it?"

"Yeah I did. I wonder what Professor Dumbledore wants to talk about." Said Cho quietly, "The upside is I get to see you a lot sooner than I had hoped I would."

Hermione smiled at this. Still the prospect of having to talk to Dumbledore about last night was something she was feeling nervous about. They both soon came up to the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick both stood outside. Hermione's happiness at seeing Cho again immediately vanished at this sight. Professor McGonagall spoke as they all stood there, "Well it seems the sources of the letters have finally arrived. I would never have guessed it to be you two though. Nevertheless, Professor Dumbledore wished us all to come here we may as well see what it is he has to say on this matter." Directing her attention to the statue she said, "Chocolate Frogs"

The statue slid open and they all entered. It made Hermione even more nervous to be standing in front of Dumbledore like this. She desperately hoped whatever Dumbledore had to say wouldn't be horribly bad. Dumbledore smiled at them all as he said, "Thank you all for coming, Minerva, Filius, Miss Chang, and Miss Granger. I simply called you all here to address Miss Granger's wandering over into Ravenclaw Tower last night. As Professor Flitwick said there is to be no punishment for this but I will tell the two of you something. You will be able to spend just one night a semester in the other's dorm at a time of your choosing. After that though you will lose one hundred House Points each. This of course will only last as long as the two of you are a couple. So Hermione can visit Cho at her dorm once a semester and vice versa. So in reality it is two days a semester. Does this sound like a fair offer to all?"

Professor McGonagall spoke, "This is an odd plan Professor. I take it there is some charm that will prevent them from exceeding their limit."

"Oh yes of course." Said Dumbledore with a laugh, "Which is where you come in Filius. You are after all this school's Charms teacher and Head of Ravenclaw."

Professor Flitwick shifted his feet slightly and said, "Of course I'll cast a charm to prevent their exceeding their bounds, but may I ask why you're allowing this?"

Dumbledore smiled and said, "I'm allowing this because I simply want to. Please inform the rest of the staff of this as well as your House Prefects. Hermione, Cho, I wish you both the best of luck." With that he motioned for them to leave.

Cho and Hermione left in relative silence. Cho spoke first after they had gone some distance, "You know that this is going to be hard to keep quiet if the Prefects know. I still want to meet you this evening for that walk. Although now it seems we can visit each other in our dorms, albeit on a limited basis. At least Professor Dumbledore gave us that much"

Hermione nodded, thinking about everything Dumbledore had said, and not said. She wondered why he felt the need to call them up there like that and tell them what he just had. Still, it made her happy that she could visit Cho once a semester and she could have Cho over once a semester as well. Now their biggest issue would be what days of each semester to pick. As they headed off for their classes Cho gave Hermione another parting kiss. Hermione could feel herself blushing as she headed for Herbology.

Hermione's mind did not stay at all on Herbology that day and her lack of quick answers surprised Ron enough to ask her something as they headed for History of Magic. "Where was your mind all class? It was like you weren't even there." Ron asked as they walked.

"It's nothing, I was running over our Potions notes in my head all class as we have Double Potions later today." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

Ron groaned at this. None of them really liked Snape but Hermione now had a bit more reason to worry. Surely the story of her being with Cho would have reached the other teachers by now and her bending the rules like this would probably make Snape dislike her even more now. Still her mind wandered more and more as the day went on. She could see Cho smiling at her as they passed in the halls in between classes and at lunch. The afternoon was going to be an unpleasant one though, with Snape's Potions class to sit through with the Slytherins, Hermione knew she had to focus on her class work so she didn't lose any House Points. The usual taunts at Harry's expense were somewhat lacking on Malfoy's part but it was a comment from fellow Slytherin Millicent Bullstrode that made Hermione wonder about the secrecy of her and Cho's relationship. She had walked up next to Hermione in the hall and almost as if she was trying to spread it said quite loudly, "What was all this I hear about you and someone from Ravenclaw? The Prefects have been buzzing about it. Trying to show off to the other Houses as well miss know-it-all?"

Hermione had a hard time of it not blushing at Millicent's sharp words and quickly denied anything of the matter, using the commotion caused by it to sneak into Potions class. She spent the vast majority of class worrying about her secret rather than the Calming Potion she was supposed to be making. Snape made her jump by quietly walking up behind her and saying the next line of instructions right behind her. As soon as class was done she hurried out of the room as did Ron and Harry. As they walked along she hung back from Harry and Ron a bit so she could think. Her moment of thought was quickly broken by Harry who had dropped back to talk to her quietly, "What was all that fuss with Bullstrode before class?"

"Oh it was nothing." Hermione said quickly trying to get Harry to hurry along.

Harry for once didn't quite believe her answer. "You know you can tell me and Ron anything. If it's something we need to go to McGonagall about let us know. I know you would want us to do the same, so this is kind of your own advice that you give to us coming back at you. Just let me know if anything is the matter."

Hermione quietly said, "Thanks Harry but there's nothing going on that should concern you. You have far more important things to worry about than some little spat between me and that nasty Bullstrode girl."

Harry stared at her for a moment and then said with a sigh, "Alright Hermione, I know when you don't want to tell me something. I'm sure that whatever it is you'll deal with it the right way and I hope for both my and Ron's sake that you'll tell us what's been going on when you're ready to." With those words he simply walked off and caught up to Ron.

Hermione was now left with even more thoughts to confuse her. She felt like she was at a bit of a loss as to what to really do about the whole thing. She dreaded having her parents catch wind of this. She knew even Muggles would frown upon what was between her and Cho. Her thoughts about the day before ranged back and forth from happiness to sheer wonder. She still didn't know why she had gone to Ravenclaw Tower, much less why she had spent the night there. She was confused and she had to wait to get all her questions answered.

Later in the evening she went down to meet Cho who had already been there a few minutes by the look of things. Cho smiled at her, telling her class had been let out early because of an accident with the Venomous Tentacula and that's why she was early. After Cho finished telling the story of how it happened they went down to the lake. Hermione voiced her questions as soon as they got to the spot they had visited the day before. "Cho, why did you ask me out like that? It just seemed so sudden is all."

Cho smiled and replied, "Why did you come and spend the night with me? I think the two questions have the same answer. We did so because life is about taking a chance and throwing caution a bit to the wind. Truth be told I was rather nervous about asking you like that. I couldn't really think of any other way to do it without making you feel awkward in front of your friends. I'm sorry if you were confused by the whole thing."

Hermione smiled and said, "No I wasn't really confused. A bit surprised maybe but not really confused. I guess you were right about the whole thing with me coming over the other night. I don't clearly recall what made me go and try to find your dorm and then spend the night. Although I must say your common room's form of password is rather simple."

"Yeah it can be sometimes. Other times a Prefect has to tell you the right answer. I only really had you spend the night since I was worried about Filch catching you out of bounds at night." Cho said as she stared into the sunset which was painting the sky golden red.

Hermione felt odd talking about their reasons why they had done everything so long after the fact. Maybe that was why it was all slowly making sense, one piece at a time. She hadn't reckoned Cho had been nervous about asking her. She had simply assumed Cho was being forward. Hermione mentally chided herself not to make judgements of people like that before really knowing their reasons for everything.

A moment of silence filled the air. Hermione looked at the light of the sunset in Cho's eyes and quietly said, "You know, walking down here the other day, for some reason it didn't feel at all awkward but I was so nervous about all the reasons why you had brought me down here. Now looking back at it I can see you were as well weren't you?"

Cho nodded and said, "I was so nervous I felt like I was trying too hard to make sure you would believe my reason. I knew it was coming across like I was being forward and all but I was trying so hard not to make it feel like that. Here it is that I've only known about you for a little under a year and only really gotten to know only the surface of who you really are and I'm suddenly asking you out. Before I could stop myself from making myself look like an idiot I had already gone and done so."

"I didn't think you were making an idiot of yourself." Hermione said, "It took a lot of courage to come out and say what was on your mind like that. From now on we should be able to really say what is on our minds as we slowly find ourselves becoming more and more comfortable with all of this."

Cho nodded in agreement and put her head on Hermione's shoulder as they watched the sun go down. They watched the sun slowly sink into liquid gold and then watch the stars slowly start to come out before walking back to the castle. The rest of their time down there had simply been spent enjoying nothing more than the other's company. Hermione was glad that Cho had answered her truthfully about the whole matter.

As they walked up to the castle together they didn't notice that a cloaked individual was standing in a dark corner watching the two of them. Before walking into the castle Hermione got up the courage to give Cho a kiss. It was short and sweet, making Cho smile afterward. "I was wondering when you were going to return my earlier ones." Cho said, "Then again I never knew what you thought about them in the first place."

Hermione smiled and said, "Well the first one surprised me but I was waiting for the second one actually. This time though I wanted to see how much courage it takes to do what you had done and it took quite a bit."

Cho smiled looking very happy, "This is going to be the start of something good isn't it?"

Hermione nodded as they walked into the castle and before separating to head for their dorms they kissed again. Hermione made sure this time to recite the Gryffindor password to herself before going up to the portrait of the Fat Lady. She gave the password and slowly walked in.

Ron was sitting and working on homework and Harry seemed to have already gone off to sleep. Ron noticed Hermione come in and said, "Can you help me with this blasted Charms homework? I can't figure out what Flitwick wanted us to do and I couldn't work the spell in class."

Hermione smiled and quickly began explaining the spell and what was supposed to happen to the object to Ron. She thought to herself that maybe Harry had told Ron not to try and pry answers out of her as to where she had gone. She smiled as Ron tried the spell and it failed miserably causing Ron's shirt to grow twice its size as his wand backfired. She hoped that this was how things could stay. For once in a long time she felt genuinely happy about something and didn't feel like hearing everyone pester her with questions.

Deep inside of Hogwarts, far from Gryffindor Tower and Hermione was the cloaked individual. They were talking to another hooded person in the halls. "So, the rumours are true that Hermione is at the very least taking a walk with someone from Ravenclaw and that someone is Cho Chang." Said the cloaked person who had watched the two of them earlier.

"Good work Crabbe. I'll make sure this gets out into student knowledge as soon as possible." Said the other.

Vincent Crabbe drew back his hood and said, "Any time Draco. I'm more than happy to work for someone as great as you. Although it was Millicent that told me to go out and spy."

"Millicent puts her nose where it does not belong. Still though, discrediting Granger can help us with discrediting Potter. Once I've accomplished that the rest of Hogwarts will see that Draco Malfoy is really the greatest wizard here." Draco said, pulling back his hood, firelight reflecting in his eyes.

A noise from behind them startled them. They quickly moved into Slytherin's Common room and left the hallway. Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off of himself, having followed Crabbe after seeing him acting suspiciously. He sighed as he knew he had to tell Hermione what he had heard and seen. He could only hope what he had heard wasn't the truth.

Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower and into the common room where he saw Hermione still awake. By now Ron had given up on the spell and had turned in for the night but Hermione was still reading by firelight. Harry gently got her attention and told her what he had seen and heard. "Hermione, what were you doing taking a walk with Cho Chang?" He hoped he hadn't stepped over a line here but he knew it had to be asked.

Hermione looked at him and bluntly said, "It is none of your business what I was doing. Crabbe is probably just trying to find something to help that idiot Malfoy discredit you by making it look like you keep bad company. Cho and I are friends, nothing more."

She immediately hated herself for saying the lie. It made her feel sick to her stomach but it wasn't like she could just up and say, 'Oh Harry, by the way I'm dating Cho Chang.' She knew she would have to make it up to Harry in the future and tell him the truth but she couldn't do it right then. She excused herself and walked up into the girl's dorm leaving Harry a bit confused.

As she tried to fall asleep she could hear herself saying those words and Cho being near enough to hear them. It felt like the words were just enough to make it real. Hermione quietly said to herself before falling into a fitful sleep, "I've fallen in love with Cho and I can't be honest about my own feelings to anyone but her." With that she slept and dreamt of Cho and everything else.

(Author's note: Well that is a long chapter. Some things are explained and new questions are going to be asked about the things that aren't. Hermione and Cho have a lot of time to figure everything out. Second Year at Hogwarts continues and the relationship starts to foster mixed emotions in Hermione. The story is only just started and the tale still a ways from finished. I hope you all enjoyed reading this.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands.**


	3. Chapter 3: Tense on Both Sides

Morning seemed to take it's time for the restless Hermione. After waking up in the middle of the night she couldn't think of anything to help her fall back asleep so she stayed up reading. The common room fire still crackled even at this hour of the day. Sunrise was just starting to creep into Gryffindor Tower and some of the very early risers were getting out of bed. Oliver Wood, captain of Gryffindor's Quidditch team, seemed to be the first one up and running as he was starting to devise working plans for Quidditch practice which Hermione heard him mutter would be starting soon. This reminded Hermione that while she was in Gryffindor, the girl she was falling more and more for played for another House team. She reasoned to herself Cho would understand about her wanting her House to win but Hermione knew she should just go and talk about it with Cho before doing anything rash.

She continued reading as she listened to Wood mutter on about Quidditch strategies. Eventually after much personal deliberation Wood left the room and Hermione was hard pressed to suppress a giggle as she watched him run out almost too excited to draw up his new plans. She had a feeling Harry wasn't going to like Wood's plan which included getting them acquainted with his Quidditch strategies before sunrise. A few more students trickled down from the dorms as breakfast came closer. Fred and George Weasley were going on about going up to a place Hermione recognized the name of but had never been called Zonko's. How they were going to get there when it wasn't a Hogsmeade weekend Hermione didn't want to know.

She closed her book and made her way down to breakfast without Harry and Ron. As she made her way down into the Great Hall she thought about everything she had the night before and the events of yesterday. A tap on her shoulder surprised her. She turned on the spot expecting to see either Harry or Ron and was surprised to see Cho standing there. Cho had a smile on her face and said, "Good morning Hermione. Just thought I'd try and catch you as you went to breakfast. I'm just lucky no one was with you."

Hermione smiled back and pulled Cho aside and said, "There's something you should know. Harry overheard Crabbe from Slytherin say that he saw me with a Ravenclaw student yesterday. Crabbe was telling this to that insufferable git Malfoy. I think Harry suspects there more to it than what I told him. Cho, how long do you think this keeping it secret is going to last?"

Cho shook her head and said, "I don't know. The only reason I don't want it to get around is what the others would say about it. I had to tell someone in my own House I had no idea what they were talking about when they asked me if I was seeing a Gryffindor student. I felt horrible after saying it too. Sooner or later this is going to get out and we're going to have a hard time convincing people otherwise. I found myself wondering what would happen if we just up and let it out and told everyone. I couldn't think of any way that doesn't end with us getting ridiculed by the rest of school as well as destroying the reputations of both ourselves and our friends. I hate keeping this relationship like this. It drives me nuts that the only person I can be honest to about my feelings is you."

It made Hermione feel only a little better about thinking the thoughts she had the other night. Still they both had to worry about what would happen when this whole thing got out, if it ever did. The only thing that made Hermione relax at that moment was the fact that Cho had hugged her. Hermione returned the hug and quietly said, "Cho, I feel the same way about all of this. I've fallen in love with you and I can't say it out loud to anyone but you. It's just something I really felt for the first time last night. I realised I loved you and the fact that telling anyone would instantly spread it through the school. I feel horrible having to tell my friends that there's nothing between us to get them to leave me alone about all these rumours. The Slytherin crowd isn't helping either."

Cho pulled back from their hug a bit, her arms still around Hermione's waist. "I know they aren't. They keep pestering various people in Ravenclaw about you. That whole crowd is rotten and they'll soon put their noses too far into something and find out it doesn't belong there. I wonder though if there is anyone else here that has to deal with this problem. It's not like we could ask but it would be nice to know.' Cho paused for a second, looking at the time a nearby clock had. "We should get going to breakfast before we're missed by anyone. Meet me here after classes are out." With that she gave Hermione a gentle kiss and walked toward the Great Hall and breakfast.

Hermione blushed and followed shortly after. Another tap on her shoulder stopped her from going to breakfast for the second time that day. It was Ginny Weasley who had tapped her this time. Ginny had a faint smile and said, "Did I just see you kiss another girl Hermione?"

Hermione had to think quickly about her response. If Ginny had seen them she wouldn't be able to lie her way out of it. Hermione spoke after a moment's pause and said, "Ginny forget what you just saw please. I don't want this to spread any faster than it probably will. Please don't tell anyone." Hermione felt so desperate asking this.

Ginny seemed to think it over and said, "I guess I saw nothing then. Right Hermione?" Hermione nodded and Ginny continued speaking, "Alright well that's cleared up. If I saw nothing then I have nothing to talk about. Have a good day then Hermione."

Hermione said the same and as she headed to breakfast she felt like she had just dodged a very big Curse Spell. Ron and Harry had come down to breakfast by the time she had gotten there. She ate her breakfast quickly, burying her nose in a book as she did so. Ron and Harry were going on about how to finish Professor McGonagall's essay for Transfiguration. Hermione had finished hers the night before and didn't have to worry about it. She simply sat there eating thinking about the conversation she had had with Cho and Ginny. It made her feel all that more nervous about being found out.

Classes that day went as normal as they could get at Hogwarts. Ron's wand was the only thing that disrupted any of their classes. Hermione found it hard to keep her focus on class when her thoughts were preoccupied by Cho and the promise of another walk. It seemed to Hermione that once they were away from the confines of the school they could freely say whatever was on their minds. Hermione wondered to herself what they would do about seeing each other during the Christmas holiday break. She reminded herself to ask Cho about that later on.

During breaks Hermione tried to make it look like she was studying hard and often times she actually was but every now and again she'd try to see if Cho was in the Library as well. She tried to act like her normal self for their last class of the day and noticed that with her focus on class she could use it to distract herself from the anticipation of seeing Cho later that day. Class ended with the usual list of homework assignments and people leaving for dinner. Dinner went fairly normally. Talk of Quidditch practice starting up soon for Gryffindor House seemed to be a popular topic as Hermione listened to various snatches of conversation. She wondered about which team to root for this year when Gryffindor actually played against Ravenclaw. Dinner was finished after a short while and everyone made their way out of the Great Hall and towards either their common rooms or the Library. Hermione lingered in the Great Hall waiting for Cho, telling Harry and Ron that she'd meet them back at Gryffindor Tower after she went down to the Library to study.

A few minutes later as Hermione stared at a painting, Cho came out of the Great Hall laughing as she told her fellow Ravenclaws she'd be back in their common room later on. Cho walked up to Hermione after making sure no one would see them. She smiled as she snuck up behind Hermione and hugged her. Hermione almost jumped from surprise and as Cho let go she turned around and smiled at Cho.

As they walked down to the lake they talked about Quidditch, classes, what they were going to do about the only remaining day Cho could visit Hermione at Gryffindor Tower and many other things. As they reached their usual spot to sit they noticed that another pair was already there. Hermione and Cho quickly moved on before they were noticed, going a short distance further along the lake. As they sat down to watch the sunset Cho smiled and said, "I guess we're not the only ones who use that spot to watch the sunset. Did you know who either of those students were?"

Hermione nodded and said, "Yeah, that looked like a couple of sixth years from Gryffindor. Don't recall their names though. Percy would be in a right fit if he saw them making out right on school grounds, of course I have no idea of what he thinks of us. I still wonder why Professor Dumbledore saw fit to tell the Prefects that we're together." Hermione sighed and put her head on Cho's shoulder as she watched the sun slowly set.

Cho smiled and said, "I don't think anyone will ever rightly know why Professor Dumbledore does the things he does. I'm sure he had his reasons for saying what he did to both of us as well as telling the Prefects of our Houses. Although knowing that Snape knows gives me the shivers when I walk into his class. It feels like he's judging me more now than he ever has before. I don't much care for him as a teacher anyway. He always favours those Slytherins he's Head of."

Hermione spoke quietly about Cho's mention of Snape. "It's not as bad as being friends with the person he hates most I should think. I felt the same way about it, knowing Snape knew made it feel so weird to be in his class."

They spoke more on various things as the sunset covered the sky in a dark red colour. After the sunset Cho asked one thing of Hermione before they left to head back to the school. "Quidditch practice starts next week and I would love it if you could come and watch. We've already been told that our first practice is Wednesday evening after dinner. Oh and if you are feeling up to it, after that I was wondering if I could come spend the night up at Gryffindor Tower with you."

Hermione was a little surprised by Cho's offer. Most of the other Houses despised having anyone from any other house watching them practice Quidditch as they felt it could reveal their tactics to their rivals too early. After a few minutes of thought Hermione smiled and said, "Of course, I would love to watch you practice Quidditch. Having you spend the night afterward would be just as lovely."

Cho smiled and gave Hermione a hug and a kiss before they started up to the castle. At the front gate Hermione stopped and turned to Cho and with a smile said, "When I came here to this school I was so excited to simply be learning how to become a witch. I never really thought about finding any form of a relationship here. It going to take time I think, but I hope that this continues to grow between us. At some point though we're going to have to tell someone about it."

Cho looked at Hermione with a loving look and said, "I think we'll both know when the time to tell someone comes and I hope that we both tell someone we can trust about all of this. It's going to be busy these next few days, what with studies to catch up on and all that so I don't think I'll get much of a chance outside of breakfast or dinner to really see you. We probably won't be able to go out for walks like this until the Wednesday you come down to watch me practice for Quidditch."

The news saddened Hermione a little but she still managed a smile. "Alright then I'll see you Wednesday. That's a whole week without really seeing you but I'm sure we'll manage somehow."

Hermione gave Cho a parting kiss as they headed up to their dorms. Hermione could already feel that she was going to miss taking these walks with Cho. Back in her dorm it was life as usual. Ron was having issues with his wand as he tried to work out a Charm spell, causing Harry's shirt to turn a nasty shade of green instead of the intended effect. As he tried again Ron swore loudly as his wand misfired, catching his own shirt on fire which Harry immediately put out. Hermione could only watch in barely contained mirth as Ron tried and failed again because of his wand. After giving Ron a few pointers she made her way up to bed and fell promptly asleep.

The rest of the week seemed to go without too much hassle. Classes were much the same as always, Harry having to deal with avoiding Lockhart and Colin Creevey, and a small incident in Charms. Wood had dragged Harry out for Quidditch early Saturday morning like Hermione had heard him talking about. She and Ron had gone down too see how things were going along and found that even with how early they had gotten up the Gryffindor team was still not done. The morning ended in a fiasco with the Slytherin Quidditch Team interrupting everything, Ron's wand backfiring on him and hearing Hagrid and Ron explain what a Mudblood was.

The next few days had been a lot harder than Hermione thought, only seeing Cho as they passed each other in the halls. Even during breakfast and dinner she rarely saw her. Cho seemed to be off studying most nights, as Hermione would occasionally see her in the Library with other Ravenclaw students. Wednesday finally rolled around and Hermione was smiling about it as soon as she got up that day. Ron was quick to point this out as they walked in to the Great Hall saying, "What do you have to be so happy about? Don't forget we've got Potions today and History of Magic."

Hermione merely smiled some more and said, "I can still smile can't I? Besides it looks like it's going to be a wonderful day."

This much of what she said was actually true. The sun was out and the ceiling in the Great Hall showed a robin's-egg-blue sky with no clouds at all. Hermione caught a glance from Cho who was also smiling that morning. Cho was doing a great job of making it look to her fellow classmates that she was looking at someone other than Hermione. Hermione knew that she had to contain her impatience with wanting the day to move faster than it would as she quickly finished breakfast.

Hermione left the Great Hall early enough to have some time to spare before the first class that day. She stood by herself running over her thoughts and some of her class notes trying to keep her mind occupied. A tap on Hermione's shoulder almost annoyed her until she saw that it was Cho who had done so. Cho was smiling and said, "Can't wait to see you later this evening. The past few days were so boring without being able to see you."

"It was the same for me." Hermione replied. "I feel like this day can't possibly go fast enough. Who did you tell your Ravenclaw friends you were staring at during breakfast?"

Cho giggled a bit and said, "Oh I told them I was staring at a Hufflepuff boy. He just happened to be sitting in line with where you were. Good thing they bought it too. I've already been told to 'act like a proper girl' by one of our Prefects. Stupid girl can't wrap her head around the idea of seeing another girl."

Hermione laughed at this and quickly gave Cho a kiss before telling her she had to head off for class. The hall around them soon flooded with students heading to class and no one took much notice of either of them as Cho and Hermione followed their friends off to their individual classes. The day dragged on as Hermione still managed to outsmart the rest of everyone in every subject they had that day. Even the Slytherins couldn't find a way to ruin Hermione's mood. She ate dinner and went down to the Quidditch field with a book, making it look to everyone else like she was simply going outside to read.

The Ravenclaw team was already out practicing when Hermione found a seat in the stands. No sooner had she settled herself down then one of the Ravenclaw Chasers came over. "What are you doing here Gryffindor? Spying on us at Quidditch so you can tell Potter and Wood how we play?"

Hermione opened her mouth to answer but Cho was already answering for her as she had stopped by her teammate and said, "Can't you see she's just out here reading? Besides I doubt very much she'll up and tell the Gryffindors how we play if she doesn't see any of it. Come on and get back to practice."

"What all this then? Davies die and make you captain did he?" The Chaser said.

Cho stared at him with an angry look. "Hey someone beat a Bludger this way! Our Chaser here could use some practice dodging!" She yelled to the Ravenclaw Beaters who happily obliged her by sending both Bludgers at their fellow Chaser.

The Chaser zoomed off on his broom dodging both Bludgers as the Beaters followed keeping the Bludgers going toward him. Cho hung there for a moment on her broom with a smile on her face. "That should get the rest of them to leave you alone. Practice should be over in about an hour. I'll meet you after I store my Quidditch gear."

Hermione smiled and nodded. She watched as Cho flew off and their Captain let out the Snitch. Hermione watched as Cho gracefully flew chasing the Snitch as it weaved through the air. After a couple of minutes she caught it. She let it go and gave chase to it once more. A Bludger one of the Beaters had missed hit Cho in the side knocking her off her broom. Hermione gasped loudly as she watched Cho fall. The Chaser who had given Hermione the hard time earlier managed to catch Cho before she fell too far. One of the other Chasers managed to grab her broom before it smashed into the stands. Hermione felt a bit helpless as running out to see if Cho was ok might raise suspicion from the Ravenclaws.

Davies, The Ravenclaw Captain, put her on a seat next to Hermione and said, "Could you take her up to see Madam Pomfrey? I think that Bludger might have broken a couple of her ribs.

Hermione nodded and carried Cho up toward the castle. It surprised Hermione how light Cho was as she carried her. Cho woke up as they reached the castle gate and asked, "Where am I and what happened?"

Hermione quietly said, "You took a Bludger to the ribs and fell off your broom. I'm taking you up to see Madam Pomfrey. Your Captain actually suggested the idea."

Cho smiled and said, "Oh, well guess we're not going for that walk tonight are we?"

"Well carrying you kind of counts as a walk." Hermione said. "You're really light by the way."

"Thanks." Cho said. "I hope Madam Pomfrey will heal me enough so I can still come spend the night up at Gryffindor Tower."

"I hope so too." Hermione said as they made their way up to the Hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey was in her office when Hermione walked in carrying Cho. "What's this about Miss Granger? Is something wrong with Miss Chang?"

Hermione explained about the Quidditch accident and what might be wrong with Cho. "Oh not too bad of an injury then." Madam Pomfrey said. "We'll have her patched up in no time. You can go now Miss Granger."

"With your permission I'd like to stay while you heal Cho. You did say it won't take long." Hermione said as she gently put Cho in one of the Hospital beds.

Madam Pomfrey thought for a moment and then said, "Oh I don't see why not. Now let's see what's wrong. I swear Quidditch injuries are far too common at this school." She quickly examined Cho's injuries and handed Cho a potion as soon as she had finished. "Drink this. You're not going to be playing Quidditch for a while Miss Chang. You'll definitely be out for your first match of the year I'm sorry to say. Take things easy and come see me tomorrow morning before classes so I can make sure this is healing right."

As they walked out Cho still winced slightly whenever she took a deep breath. "It doesn't hurt as much as it was. That potion didn't taste too bad and it's certainly working." Cho said as they walked through the remarkably empty halls.

Their walk up to Gryffindor Tower was spent mostly talking about the various things you had to go past on the way up like the trick stair and other such things. They walked up to the Fat Lady's portrait which immediately said, "Hang on there I see one student who is not from this House. What's your business here?"

Hermione opened her mouth to reply when Professor McGonagall spoke first scaring Hermione quite a bit. "She's here because Albus Dumbledore has allowed these two to visit each other once a semester at the other's House dorm and this is Miss Chang's first time here this semester. So mind your manners next time you see her here even if she's not with Hermione." McGonagall turned to Hermione and Cho and said, "Good evening girls. I heard you took a Bludger to the side in practice Miss Chang, hope that heals well. I was just getting around to telling the Prefects about the two of you actually. I've been tied up with various things and this is the first time I've had a good chance to tell them. You're welcome to join us, actually I would prefer it if you did. It will raise less questions if you follow me."

Hermione and Cho both nodded stunned by how casually Professor McGonagall was speaking to them. They followed her wordlessly into Gryffindor's common room which was already empty save for the Prefects. Apparently McGonagall had sent word ahead of her arrival and wanted the Prefects to clear out the common room. Percy Weasley looked at Cho and immediately said, "Professor what is a Ravenclaw Third Year doing in our common room?"

"I'll get to that in a moment Weasley. This is to be kept only between you Prefects and these two girls. I hear that one of you has spoken a word about it to anyone besides the Prefects of Ravenclaw House I will personally see to it that no less than ten House points are taken away and the lot of you will be put into detention unless I get a specific name. Now I know some rumours of this have already been floating around but I'll let these two tell you everything."

Cho blushed a bright red as did Hermione. They both felt like they had been put on the spot by McGonagall. Hermione summoned up her courage and said, "What we don't want anyone besides you Prefects, Professor Dumbledore and our House Heads is that Cho and I are seeing each other. We have our own reasons for not wanting this to spread out like wildfire like everything at this school usually does. Cho will only be able to visit our dorm once each semester and if I know of it in advance I will try to remember to tell you so you can help me cover this so the rest of Gryffindor doesn't go yelling it out to the whole school. Cho and I will tell those we want to tell went we want to tell them and not before."

All the Prefects murmured a bit and McGonagall stared at them until they all agreed. Hermione thanked them for understanding and headed off for bed early. Cho settled into Hermione's bed and quietly said, "You know it felt good to actually here you come out and say that to someone, especially that Percy Weasley, I hear he's real strict about things."

Hermione nodded. A short while later the two of them were nodding off to sleep as the rest of Gryffindor did the same. Cho snuggled against Hermione as they slept soundlessly. Tomorrow was sure to bring about its own worries but that could wait. Right now everything was as they both wanted it to be.

(Author's note: Way longer than I originally intended this chapter to be when I started it. Quidditch injuries and more here. Now that the Prefects know about everything, do things change or stay the same about the secrecy of everything? Only time will tell. Next chapter coming soon. Hope you all enjoyed reading this.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands**


	4. Chapter 4: Worries

Sunrise found Cho and Hermione just waking up. They both tried to quietly leave Gryffindor tower almost as soon as they had gotten up. Cho yawned and stretched. She a little more accustomed to getting up early as she had to wake Hermione up. Hermione was still only half awake as they left the Gryffindor common room.

No sooner had they left than Percy Weasley cornered them. He wasted no time speaking his mind. "You know it's only because of Dumbledore and McGonagall that I'm not telling Harry and Ron about this. Hermione, I'm probably not going to be the only one who says this to you two but I don't approve of it. If not for the very convenient circumstances around this whole thing I would take house points for this behaviour."

"Percy, I don't give a damn what you think about this." Said an irate Cho who had pushed Hermione behind her protectively. "You're always too focused on the damn rules and that stupid Prefect badge. You should know by now that not everything in life is by the rules. You're a stupid git and I hope you don't bother either of us while you still remain here at Hogwarts, which if memory serves is only a few more years."

Hermione was stunned. It was like Cho had just said 'piss off' to Percy. The knowledge that Cho was willing to stand up for both of them made Hermione really happy. Percy however was fuming, his ears bright red. "Five points from Ravenclaw Chang and you can be sure I'll talk to Flitwick about this cheek." Percy said in an angry tone as he stormed off.

"Well that went rather well didn't Hermione?' Cho said with a bright smile.

Hermione smiled back and immediately gave Cho a big hug and a kiss. "Yes it did. Come on or we'll be caught by someone other than a Prefect."

Hermione and Cho made their way down to the Great Hall, trying to make it look like they had simply run into each other and were conversing about what Hermione might want to consider for classes next year. A group of Slytherins walked by and whispers immediately sprang up as Cho and Hermione passed. Pansy Parkinson didn't try to stay quiet as she and Millicent loudly talked about the rumour of Hermione seeing another girl. Draco who was nearby simply smiled at the whole thing. He had done a great job trying to get that rumour going, waiting until it reached everyone in Hogwarts to act on it.

Classes resumed their normalcy as time went on. Cho and Hermione had to cut down the amount of evenings they could go out for walks to only once or twice a week. This greatly annoyed Hermione as the only other times she saw Cho was in the Library, where they would both quietly try and ditch Cho's classmates to find a quiet corner. As October came and colder weather set in the evening walks had turned into time spent in the library. It seemed that the two were being so occupied by classes and other things that even this became hard to plan. What was worse was on Halloween the horrible attack on Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat had taken place. The rumours of the Chamber of Secrets being open was far more favourable than the rumour about Cho and Hermione.

Hermione felt like she could relax a bit with the rumours about her gone but as one evening in the library showed it wouldn't hurt to still be a bit cautious. It was late the Sunday after the incident with Harry being hit with a Bludger in Quidditch and the attack on Colin Creevey. Hermione was leaning against Cho's legs as she read over her homework for Charms. Cho was about to lean down and give Hermione a kiss on the forehead when two Slytherin's walked by whispering about the newest news. Hermione and Cho almost reflexively separated and moved away from one another. The two passing Slytherins almost caught the movement and merely shot the two of them nasty looks before moving on. Cho quietly spoke after they had moved past, "I'm really worried about all of this. This Chamber of Secrets business. It would drive me mad to find out someone I cared about was hurt. I can't imagine what it's like for you to have to worry about your friends like this. You must be constantly worried about Ron and Harry."

Hermione nodded and spoke after resuming her place at Cho's feet. "Those two cause me more worry than they are worth some days. Still I worry more about you Cho. I know how you'd feel if someone got attacked all of a sudden by whatever or whoever it is. We can only hope that this will all end soon." She gave Cho a kiss and relaxed a bit more as she continued her work.

Cho merely sighed and hoped nothing would happen to either of them. A thought struck Hermione as she sat there, "You're going home for Christmas like everyone else aren't you?"

"Bit early to be mentioning it Hermione, it is still only October." Cho said, "But yeah I think I am going to, unless you want me to stay over the holidays?"

Hermione thought about it for a moment. Her mind raced with the argument of having the one she had fallen in love with stay at the school and risk getting attacked by whatever it was or send them home where they would be safe. Hermione sighed as she said, "I would love for you to stay, but with everything going on here I can't tell you to stay just for me."

Cho smiled at Hermione and said, "I'm going to miss seeing you while I'm gone. I'll be sure to send you something for Christmas."

Hermione nodded and said much the same about the exchange of gifts. Still something in the back of her mind was causing her a lot of worry. It was the subconscious thought of losing Cho that was working its way into Hermione's mind. She tried to ignore her thoughts and focus at the larger problem, the issue of helping Harry with the mysteries surrounding the Chamber of Secrets.

Not two days had passed when the news of another attack spread like wildfire. This time the victim's were Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost and Finch-Fletchly of Hufflepuff. Hermione was getting more and more worried as time went on. The fact that Harry was being put as the one behind everything made it harder for Hermione to escape the whispers of the school. The rumours of her and Cho were still making the rounds but this time it was like all the rumour was doing was just building a point against Harry.

First term came to an end and those going home for the holidays were heading out in a bit of a hurry. Cho and Hermione had time to say their goodbyes for the holidays. Cho had come to see Hermione in the library a few days before leaving. The two of them were buried deep in a section very few people ever wandered. "I'm going to miss you while I'm gone." Said Cho who was giving Hermione a hug.

Hermione was trying not to let all her emotions get to her. She had to remember the fact that she would be seeing Cho again in a couple of weeks. "I'll miss you too. I'll try to write you while you're gone. I wish I could tell you about all the things that..."

Cho cut Hermione off by putting a finger to her lips. "Don't go telling me all of your secrets. As much as I want to know them, I know you will have more than a good enough reason to hide them. Besides I would hate to accidentally get you or Ron or Harry in any trouble."

Hermione smiled and took a hold of Cho's hand. "Thanks for understanding. Someday I'll have to tell you everything that happened but for now I hope you can be content with knowing that I love you, instead of knowing all my little secrets."

The two kissed and Cho silently headed off to her dorm. Hermione sat down in front of the bookcase she had been standing in front of. She stayed there a minute mulling everything over in her head. To tell Cho everything would be showing her that the Hermione Cho knew was different from the side of Hermione that only Ron and Harry saw. Even then it felt like the only person who knew who she really was, was Hermione herself. She hated feeling like her friends and Cho only ever saw one side of her and never saw her for who she really was. Her feelings were driving her slowly into worry.

Weeks passed and the catastrophe that was the Polyjuice Potion scheme happened landing Hermione in the hospital wing. Rumours about her being the newest victim of the Chamber went around like crazy as students came back. Hermione was glad that Madam Pomfrey was kind enough to give her some privacy from stares that she had been getting. Being turned into a partial cat was not at all amusing to Hermione. She had feigned being nice when Lockhart had given her the get well card. What she feared was having Cho see her like this. One evening after Harry and Ron had left madam Pomfrey quietly came down to where Hermione was and said, "You have one more visitor Hermione. She's been pestering me to let her see you for about an hour now."

Hermione sighed and said, "Thanks Madam Pomfrey. Send her in."

Cho quietly came over to where Hermione was and sat down on the edge of her bed. Hermione turned her head, wanting to avoid looking at Cho. "I-I don't want you to see me like this. I-it's embarrassing." Hermione stuttered.

"Hermione, I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to see how you were doing." Cho said quietly. "When I heard about you being here I panicked and feared the worst. I've been wanting to come down here for days but I was nervous about it. I'm glad to see you're at least awake." Her tone changed and became a bit playful as she smirked at looked at Hermione's tail. "Cute tail, shame you won't be keeping it."

"Hey! I'll have you know it was no fun getting that. Stupid Millicent and her stupid cat. I'll be glad it's gone." Said Hermione in a slightly playful tone, matching Cho's light tone.

"You messed up a Transfiguration spell or a Potion to get that result and by you mentioning Millicent's cat I'm guessing it was a potion." Cho said trying to guess how Hermione had gotten where she was.

Hermione smiled and said, "It was a potion but I'm not telling you what one. I should be rid off this in a few more days. Maybe then we can get together in the library. I can't wait for it to warm up. I miss those sunset strolls with you."

"Yeah I do too. Well, I guess I'll see you when you get out then. I've got to hurry back to my dorm. Oh, it's a new term and we have two days to spend the night again. We'll have to get those planned as soon as we can." Cho said in an excited tone.

Hermione agreed and Cho gave her a hug as she left. Hermione wondered silently to herself if everything would remain like this forever or would it all fall apart and she would have to find someone else. She shook her head to rid herself of that unpleasant thought and tried not to dwell on it. Try as she might though her dreams were filled with nightmares of her and Cho breaking up or some other tragic thing. A particularly nasty dream woke Hermione in the middle of the night. She sat there thinking about her dreams and then tried to think about all the happy times she had spent with Cho over the past few months. As soon as she did she smiled to herself and promptly went back to sleep. This time around her dreams were no longer nightmares.

By the first week of February Hermione was finally rid of all the markings of having been a cat. Nightly visits from Ron and Harry were nice but she really wanted to see Cho again, who hadn't stopped by since that one night. She had met Cho at breakfast one morning early one morning and had asked her quietly to meet her in the library after classes. The day passed relatively fast and Hermione was in the library as soon as possible.

A few minutes of waiting and Cho showed up smiling. The two disappeared like they usually did, finding the quietest possible corner. Hermione immediately hugged Cho and gave her a kiss. It was probably the most forward she had ever been with Cho. When Cho pulled away from the kiss she was smiling. "Someone missed me didn't they?" Cho said in a light tone.

Hermione nodded and noticed she was blushing furiously. "Yeah I did miss you. The night you came up to visit, I was so scared about what you might think about how I looked. Then you reassured me that everything was okay and that helped me relax."

"Glad I could help you Hermione. You know, even though no attacks have happened I'm still worried about it. It felt like that was all I could think about over the Holidays." Cho said quietly. "When I came back and heard you were where, well you know. After I went to see you I felt so relieved you were ok. But I still worry so much. What am I going to do if something happens Hermione?" Cho voice was filled with a note of panic.

Hermione hugged her tightly and said, "If anything happens then there's not much we can do besides simply being there for one another."

Cho smiled and quietly whispered in Hermione's ear, "I love you Hermione."

Hermione smiled and whispered back, "I love you too Cho."

The two kissed once more and then Cho said, "Before we go we should figure out a couple of good days to go and visit one another, you know, to give the prefects some warning."

Hermione giggled and said, "All the warning I'd give Percy is 'oh by the way Cho is spending the night tomorrow'. How about you come over to Gryffindor Tower this weekend?"

Cho smiled and said, "That sounds good. Then how about you come up to Ravenclaw Tower first week of March then?"

Hermione agreed and the two hugged and kissed once more before going back to their individual common rooms. As Hermione made her way back up to her dorm she ran into one of the Prefect of Gryffindor House. She stopped them long enough to tell them of her and Cho's plan so as to give the Prefects a bit of a warning. The Prefect smiled and told Hermione not worry about getting caught by anyone. Hermione thanked the Prefect and continued on her way into the common room. It seemed like things were going to go back to normal for the rest of the year, but last year had taught Hermione to never let her guard entirely down. Hogwarts had its own little way of surprising people.

The weekend finally rolled around and on Saturday Hermione had asked Cho to meet her in the library after lunch. It had become a habit of theirs to simply ask the other during, before or after breakfast if they were available later on in the day. Hermione had her nose buried in a book as she waited for Cho. She had arrived there early to catch up on studies as she wanted to get a jump on finals this year. A few hours passed and Hermione was starting to worry about Cho and tried to occupy her mind with reading instead of all of her worry. Cho finally showed up and said, "Sorry, I had to hide out from a few of my friends who do nothing but follow me. I like them and all but they would kill me if they found out I really was seeing you."

Hermione put the book she was reading down and got up from where she was sitting to give Cho a hug. All of Hermione's worry just seemed to drain right out of her mind as she hugged Cho. Cho gave Hermione a good long kiss as they hugged. Hermione broke the kiss to say, "It'll be good to have you spend the night again. The last time you did I slept so soundly I'm surprised I woke up. It's so easy for me to relax around you."

Cho smiled and said, "You know I felt the same way about it. Most nights I can't sleep and when I do my thoughts are usually on you. The only time they're not is if I'm worrying about an assignment for Potions."

The two spent the rest of the day reading various books. Each of them working on their own homework as well as talking about what Hermione wanted to take for classes next year. Cho suggested a few of her favourite classes but felt mildly annoyed that since the two of them were a year apart that they wouldn't ever be in the same classes. Hermione said that she'd have to think about what she took and knew that in only a few days that the Second Years would have to figure out which new classes to take up.

"I'm a bit worried about it Cho. What if my schedule interferes with us spending time together?" Hermione said in a worried tone as they headed up to Gryffindor Tower.

"Then I guess we'll have to figure something out. I'm sure everything will work out and besides we can worry about that once summer break is over." Cho said with a smile, trying not to worry about thing too far in advance.

The night up in Gryffindor Tower was largely uninterrupted save for one very awkward moment late at night. It was around two in the morning when Hermione felt herself being awoken by someone. It was Cho who sleepily said, "I think someone wants an answer Hermione."

Standing next to Hermione's bed was Lavender Brown. "Umm, Hermione who is in your bed?" She said, looking very much half awake.

Hermione thought quickly and said, "No one Lavender, you're just seeing things. Go back to sleep."

Lavender rubbed her eyes and yawned, "But I clearly see someone in your bed Hermione."

Hermione got up and gently prodded Lavender back over to her own bed. "Just go back to sleep Lavender , this is all just a crazy dream."

Lavender yawned and settled into her bed. Hermione could only pray that Lavender thought that this was all a dream. Cho was still sitting up and said in a whisper, "We'll need to get up early to dodge this entirely Hermione."

Hermione simply nodded as she curled up next to Cho and slept soundly. They managed to escape Lavender and the rest of Gryffindor House the next morning. They made their way down to breakfast and before separating Cho gave Hermione a kiss and told her that she would try to see her later that day if Hermione was in the library.

Easter finally rolled around, and Hermione had thoroughly enjoyed her night's stay with Cho up in Ravenclaw during the first week of March. Hermione had chosen her classes and the final matches for Quidditch were fast approaching but Hermione had planned to spend that day in library looking up something for Harry. She had found what she was looking for and as she was heading out of the library she stopped to ask a Ravenclaw Sixth year for a mirror, since Hermione now knew what it was roaming around Hogwarts.

The memory in the Pensieve seemed to jump several months and Ron who had been so wrapped up in watching the events Hermione was showing him that it took him a moment to realize this was when Hermione had been petrified.

The next thing Hermione saw was the hospital wing shortly after Madam Pomfrey had given her the Mandrake Restorative Drought. Hermione knew by the air surrounding the room that Harry had once more solved a mystery of Hogwarts. She was told she would be able to attend the end of year feast.

A the rest of term seemed to go right on by but the day after the feast seemed to be something Hermione particularly enjoyed remembering. She was down in the library meeting Cho one last time before she left Hogwarts for summer break. Hermione was quietly waiting for Cho and smiled as she saw Cho approach. Cho Immediately hugged and kissed Hermione like she never had before. It took Hermione by surprise. Cho broke their kiss after a minute and said, "It was so horrible hearing that you had been attacked. I was so worried about you, I mean I didn't know if you were ok or if you were..."

This time it was Hermione quieting Cho by putting a finger to Cho's lips. "Don't say anything. I know how you must have felt. I honestly can't remember any of it after seeing the basilisk's reflection. I do have a good question for you. When are you stopping by to visit over the holidays?"

Cho smiled and said, "I'll try and see you the second week after we get let out on break. I'll send you an owl when I know the exact date."

The two kissed once more and this time there seemed to be so much more love and passion in it then there had been before. Hermione knew it was because of all of what had gone on in those last few months and how Cho must have had a rough time with it. Still it made Hermione happy to know she was loved.

The end of the year finally came and everyone gathered all of their things together and made their way to the Hogwarts Express. The ride home was fun but Hermione couldn't help but feel like she would be anxiously awaiting Cho's owl as soon as she got home. As they arrived in King's Cross and everyone went their own way Hermione couldn't help but look for Cho as she left the platform.

Hermione spent the next few days reading and waiting for Cho's owl. It still surprised Hermione's parents to get owl post but it was something they were slowly getting used to. It was just another lazy summer day when Cho's owl came and delivered it's letter. The letter simply said, 'I'll be able to see you in a week if it's alright with your parents that I spend a couple of days there. Just tell your parents we're friends from school and I wanted to hang out for a few days. I'm sure they'll understand. With love, Cho"

Hermione immediately went and asked her parents about this and they tentatively said yes to it. Hermione immediately sent a reply back to Cho writing, 'They're fine with it. See you in a week then. Love Hermione.' The coming week would not come fast enough.

(Author's note: Sorry this chapter is so late getting finished. Getting out of Second Year this chapter and heading into Third Year next one. This is a long story and the tip of the iceberg isn't even visible yet. Will Third year help or harm Hermione and Cho's relationship? Will Hermione's schedule cause too much tension? As always, read and enjoy.)


	5. Chapter 5: Summertime

The week until Cho came over was passing by at a snail's pace. Hermione spent the time trying to occupy herself with books from school or helping her parents with everyday things. It felt so odd to be among Muggles like this after having spent the majority of the year at Hogwarts. What was even weirder is that Hermione was actually calling her parents Muggles. Her parents did remind her on occasion to try and not mention school around those who might be less understanding. Hermione knew this was in reference to Harry's family, the Dursleys.

Still the days until Cho came over seemed to just drag by. The day finally came when Cho was due to come over. Hermione hoped Cho's family was familiar with Muggle modes of transportation and didn't decide to come by a way that might scare her parents. Hermione's fears were proven wrong as Cho arrived by means of a rather normal looking car. Cho and her mother, who had driven her, introduced themselves to Hermione's parents.

A few short minutes later Cho had brought what she had brought with her up to Hermione's room. As soon as Cho had set everything down, Hermione gave her a hug and kissed her passionately. Even though it had only been a few days since Hermione had last seen Cho it felt like it had been much longer. Cho smiled and said, "Well that was certainly a warm welcome. You've probably been impatient with waiting ever since I sent you that owl but good things are always worth waiting for."

"I know they are but it still gets annoying to have to wait. Ever since I got that owl I couldn't think of anything but seeing you. You look great in that outfit by the way." Hermione said, looking at Cho's sapphire blue knee length skirt and a short sleeved shirt that matched the skirt nicely.

Cho smiled and said, "It was something my mother picked out. It's one of my favourite Muggle outfits actually." She sat down on the edge of Hermione's bed and looked around the room.

Cho noticed the room had not one, but two bookcases, both of which had a mixture of Muggle and Wizard books. A very well worn looking copy of 'Hogwarts: A History' sat near Hermione's bed on a small table. The book looked like it had been read cover to cover enough times for Hermione to have memorized it. The rest of the room was simple, containing the bed Cho was currently seated on, the table the book rested on which also had a lamp on it, the two separate bookcases a small looking closet and a dresser. Hermione smiled and upon noticing Cho was checking out the room said, "It's not much of a room but it's home. Although from what Harry has told me my room would seem like a mansion compared to his."

"Oh? Why would he say that?" asked Cho quizzically.

"Oh it's those nasty Dursleys he lives with. They're his aunt and uncle but they treat him like he's abnormal. It must be absolutely horrid to live with those Muggles. The room they make him stay in is rather small. At least my parents handled my being a witch rather well enough." Hermione said as she sat down next to Cho on the bed.

"Well I imagine it must have been something else being told that. Who showed up to tell them you were a witch?" Cho said with a smile.

"Oh it was Professor McGonagall who told them and explained everything. She was rather nice about the whole matter. She explain how to get school stuff from Diagon Alley and about the school itself. I was absolutely beside myself when I heard about it. I found out as much as I could about the school and everything to do with the wizarding world." Hermione said in an excited tone. "I hate it when people call me an insufferable know-it-all. I just enjoy learning as much as I can and I think it puts people off that I know so much."

"Well it's not so much that you know so much that puts people off. It's the fact that you are more willing than others to show just how much you know. I like that about you. You're so energetic about learning new things and you aren't afraid to show it. Small wonder the Sorting Hat put you in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw. It was your boldness that did it I bet." Cho said as she relaxed and sprawled out on Hermione's bed.

"Well the Sorting Hat did actually consider putting me in Ravenclaw before it put me in Gryffindor." Hermione said as she bent over and picked up 'Hogwarts: A History'.

Hermione stretched out and propped the book up against Cho's side as she read. Cho giggled a bit causing Hermione to lose her place. "How many times have you read that book? You can't have had it for more than a couple of years." Cho said looking down at Hermione.

Hermione looked up at Cho and smiled saying, "Once I finish the last few pages it will have been twenty times exactly. I'll finish in a minute or so, if someone can stop herself giggling for a few seconds."

"Sorry about that. That is one of my more ticklish spots." Cho said, adjusting herself so that she was a bit more comfortable.

Hermione closed the book and put it back on the table and looked back at Cho with a devilish smile. "You're ticklish are you?" She asked returning to Cho's side.

"Yes, but don't you go tickling me. I get really giggly for a bit and then it starts to feel really good." Cho said, blushing slightly.

"So what do you do when you stop giggling and the feeling goes from one that makes you laugh to one that feels good?" Hermione asked, a bit confused by how Cho had meant her words.

Cho blushed deeper and said nervously, "I...I...it's embarrassing to say it out loud."

"Either I get an answer or I get to tickling to see the answer for myself." Hermione said in mock threat.

Cho's blush was now causing her face to turn a deep crimson. She looked at Hermione and whispered, "Go ahead then and see for yourself. You're probably the only person I would let it get that far with anyway."

Hermione smiled and gently started to tickle Cho's side. The effect of Cho giggling was almost instant. As soon as Hermione had touched Cho, Cho was giggling helplessly, trying to keep it quiet. Not terribly long after though Cho's giggling ceased. It was replaced with a soft sighing sound that told Hermione just how much Cho enjoyed the feeling once past the giggling stage. The sound of the sigh was a rather sensual one and Hermione noticed that Cho's blush had actually deepened. Hermione stopped now that she had her answer and she put her head on Cho's stomach. Still blushing furiously Cho said, "That's what happens when you keep it going. I can't resist it either. One of my friends in Ravenclaw found this out by accident once when we were all a bit riled up and being the playful girl we all were in first year. Needless to say it was much louder than it was just now. It was loud enough to render the whole room quiet in an instant. I was so embarrassed by it."

"I find it rather cute Cho. You really seemed to like it.' Hermione said, gently running a hand down Cho's side, once more getting the same sensual sound out of Cho.

"If your parents hear me they'll be wondering what we're doing up here." Cho said, letting out another sigh as she felt Hermione's hand caress her side again.

" I know...but it's so cute to hear you make that sound." Hermione said, as she finally relaxed and just laid there.

There was a bit of silence between them for a bit. Cho's blush was finally starting to fade as she relaxed. The birds outside of Hermione's window were chirping as the two simply laid there enjoying the simple pleasure of the other's company. Hermione was actually starting to drift off to sleep when Cho woke her up by saying, "Hermione, I want to know something."

"What is it Cho?" Hermione said as she sat up trying to wake herself up a bit.

"Do you love me?" Cho asked simply sitting up next to Hermione.

The question surprised Hermione a bit. "Yes I do love you Cho. Why do you ask?"

Cho didn't answer but moved over and sat in Hermione's lap before pulling her into a kiss. Cho pulled Hermione in close as she kissed her passionately. The move had surprised Hermione. She quickly put the same passion into the kiss as Cho had, putting her arms around Cho and holding her tight. Cho ran her hands along Hermione's sides as they kissed, kicking up the edges of Hermione's shirt and feeling skin as well as fabric. The sensation of Cho running her hands along her sides was something that made Hermione issue a similar sound to the one Cho had earlier. Cho slowly broke the kiss and it had left the two of them mildly breathless. Cho smiled at Hermione who smiled back. Hermione finally caught her breath and said, "I can see why someone's touch there feels so good. That kiss was something else."

"I love you so much Hermione." Cho said, the remains of a bright blush leaving her face.

The romantic moment was instantly dissolved by Hermione's mother who happened to be standing in the doorway with a shocked expression. "Hermione Jean Granger explain yourself!" She said in a sharp tone.

Instantly Hermione knew that explaining this was beyond her. Cho quietly spoke up saying, "I can explain this Mrs. Granger."

"I don't doubt you can young miss, but I would love to hear the explanation from my own daughter." Hermione's mother said, staring at Hermione.

Hermione blushed intensely trying to find the right words to tell her mother about what it was between herself and Cho. She hadn't imagined it going like this, in fact she hadn't even really planned on telling her parents about the whole thing in the first place but being caught kissing Cho, Hermione knew she couldn't even begin to think of lying her way out of this. Choosing her words carefully Hermione spoke in a quiet voice, "Mother, I'm just going to come right out and say it, so please don't be too terribly angry with me. Cho and I have been seeing each other since the start of last school year."

"Seeing each other as in dating I assume." Mrs. Granger said tartly, "Well even with you being so honest about this I'm going to have to think of some proper punishment for you young lady. As for Miss Chang here I believe I interrupted her on what her view was on the whole matter."

"Actually Mrs. Granger, I don't have much to really add to what Hermione said about this whole thing" Cho said, trying to keep the embarrassment from the moment entering her voice. "I can say that I really do care for her though."

Hermione's mother stared at the both of them. She had been shocked to find her daughter kissing another girl, let alone kissing her so passionately. Her mind was still wrapping itself around what it was she had seen and the explanations Hermione and Cho had given. She spoke, her voice still stern but a bit softer than it had been. "I am going to be nice just this once and let you off. But if I see you at this again I'm Grounding you Hermione and sending Cho immediately home."

Both Hermione and Cho nodded, understanding that Mrs. Granger had decided to be lenient with them instead of what she was going to do. Mrs. Granger left and almost as soon as she was out of earshot Cho started giggling. Hermione glared at her and said, "I fail to see what so funny about that Cho. We could have gotten in serious trouble."

"No, it's not that." Cho said, slowly regaining her composure. "I didn't know your middle name until just now. It struck me as really funny to hear it but laughing at it when it was said would have caused more problems."

"Oh so my middle name is funny to you then?" Hermione said in a playful tone.

Cho just simply rolled around giggling, incapable of answering Hermione. Hermione just smiled and laughed at it as well. The fact that her mother had been gracious enough to allow them as much leeway as she had was something Hermione was grateful for, but not getting caught at home was going to be harder than it was at school.

Lunch soon rolled around and Hermione and Cho both had a hard time looking Hermione's mother in the eye. The embarrassment a being caught was still fresh in their minds and both of them were thinking of what to do to prevent it from happening again. Dinner rolled around and along with it came an announcement from Hermione's father. The news came in the form of a family trip to France starting the following week and coming back a week or so before school started so Hermione could get her school things for the upcoming school year. Hermione was excited by the news of it but inwardly she didn't want to go and be so far away from Cho. Even though Cho was going back to her own home in two days, Hermione still felt annoyed that part of the last day Cho was there would be spent being made to pack by her mother.

That evening as Hermione and Cho got ready for bed Hermione couldn't help but say, "You know that I probably won't see you until after school starts back up. I would write but I don't have an owl and Muggle post is far too slow for my liking."

Cho laughed lightly at the mention of Muggle post. Her voice took up a more serious note as she spoke. "It's going to be a long summer without seeing you again until school starts."

Hermione's thoughts ran around her mind as she changed into her nightgown in front of Cho without realizing she had done so. When she did she looked over at Cho who was blushing furiously. Hermione immediately said, "My mind was elsewhere for a second and I forgot you were here."

"Don't apologize for it, I kind of enjoyed the sight although I imagine your mother would have had a conniption fit about the whole thing.' Cho said with a smile.

Hermione sighed and relaxed only to be surprised as Cho changed as well. Cho changing right in front of her had obviously been deliberate as a way to sort of return Hermione's accidental favour. Hermione blushed and promptly said, "I feel rather stupid saying this now but you're really pretty Cho."

Cho settled into Hermione's bed and said, "You're not stupid Hermione. You're pretty yourself, that was one of many reasons why I asked you out in the first place."

Hermione joined Cho and said, "What were all of your reasons for asking me out? I feel like I haven't heard all of them yet."

Cho turned the light out and as she laid back down she said, "Promise not to laugh at some of them."

"Of course I won't." said Hermione as she snuggled up close to Cho.

"I asked you out because I thought that you were smart, pretty, brave, and so many other little things I've noticed about you. I took a chance and asked you out. When I did I was afraid you'd either reject me or the entire idea of dating another girl. I don't really know why I wanted to but I just had this feeling about you. You've become a rather special person to me Hermione." Cho said as she pulled Hermione close.

Hermione simply kissed Cho as a way to express what was on her mind at that moment. None of her friends had ever said that she was special to them. Hearing it come from Cho made Hermione happy but the worries of having to hide it once more this coming year made Hermione panic a little.

A few short minutes later the two had promptly fallen asleep. Hermione's dreams were filled with nightmares and one particularly nasty one woke her. Cho felt her wake up and quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

"I just had the worst nightmare." Hermione replied in a similarly quiet tone. "I dreamt that you and I had this big fight about some stupid little thing and you left me forever. It scared me to think that you might really leave me."

Cho gave Hermione a kiss and said, "Don't worry about that dream. I won't let it come true. I'll stay with you. I love you too much to leave you."

Hermione relaxed a bit but the dream had still scared her quite badly. While Cho had promptly fallen back asleep it took several more minutes for Hermione to fall asleep. Hermione held Cho closely as she slowly drifted back to sleep, hoping her dreams wouldn't be nightmares.

The rest of Cho's stay passed without incident and Hermione had been right about having to spend the last day of it packing. It was around afternoon on the last day that Cho was over at Hermione's. The two were in Hermione's room gathering things together. Cho had a worried look on her face as Hermione got ever closer to finishing up her packing. Hermione noticed it and said, "What's the matter Cho? You look worried about something."

Cho shook her head and said, "It's nothing, just some silly little worries about you leaving, that's all. It feels so odd sometimes to be so concerned about someone else. It makes me happy to know that that's how much I care about you but at the same time I hate all the wondering if you're safe or not."

Hermione hugged Cho and said, "I'm glad you care enough to be worried about me and truthfully I feel the same way about you. That's why I hate all of the hiding we have to do at school. I'm always worrying if we're going to get caught by someone we don't want knowing. It scared me to have my mother catch us kissing. I was so worried about it happening again."

Cho sighed and said, "I wish things could be different and that we were able to be more open about this but I know that relationships like ours are not well looked upon."

Hermione gently gave Cho a kiss, holding her tightly as she did so. Cho was headed back home within another hour and Hermione felt like it simply wasn't enough time. The past couple of days had seemed to go right by and the wait until the start of school to see Cho again was already making Hermione anxious for summer to already be over even with the prospect of going to France. She wanted the short hours she had left with Cho to last just a bit longer but there was no way she could slow down time.

Cho and Hermione finally had to say their goodbyes as Cho's mother had come to pick her up. Hermione turned back into the house as soon as Cho was gone and was immediately faced by her mother. Her mother's tone was loving as she said, "Young lady, I imagine you have had to make a lot of decisions about this whole thing but I still feel like asking if you are sure about it. I'll still love you regardless of what you choose, I would be a horrible mother if I didn't."

Hermione thought about for a moment and then slowly said, "I care about Cho and my feelings aren't going to change any time soon. I'm surprised you're so accepting of this whole thing. When you found out, it wasn't the way I wanted you to. I wanted to tell you about it but I didn't know what you would think about it."

Hermione's mother smiled and said, "You're right about me not wanting to find out about my daughter dating another girl the way I did. I can tell you though that I have had time to think it over and I think you're rather old enough to start to make a few decisions on your own. You're a smart girl and you figure things out fairly quickly. You should know by now that you can be open with me and your father and tell us anything. Obviously we won't demand you tell us everything but if you feel like telling us something but don't know how we'll take it, just tell us what it is. We love you dearly Hermione and all we want is the best for you."

Hermione gave her mother a hug and said, "Thanks for telling me that. I'll be sure to keep it in mind."

Hermione's family trip to France went smoothly. She had managed to get Harry his birthday present to him on time thanks to an unexpected visit from Harry's owl Hedwig. A letter from Ron told her that Percy was Head Boy this year which made Hermione groan inwardly at the news. This might make things even harder for her and Cho this year. Her thoughts turned more and more often to Cho as the trip neared its end.

A couple of days before the train to Hogwarts was set to leave Hermione was finally back in England and finishing up getting her things for school. Her parents had left her in the care of the Weasleys and told her to behave herself while at school. Hermione couldn't wait to get to the school itself since she knew the train wouldn't provide her with an opportunity to see Cho.

Yet one more thing to worry about this year was the recent news of the escape of Sirius Black. This news also came with the fact that it seemed to concern Harry as well. A list of things to worry about was growing for Hermione and she was hoping to have quite the uneventful year and so far everything told her that it would be quite the contrary.

The search of the train by the Dementors did little to make Hermione forget her worries. The new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher did seem to be quite a bit more knowledgeable about the field than Lockhart had been. Hermione had been the one to point out that he was Professor R.J. Lupin while they had been on the train.

Hermione was told shortly after arriving that she needed to go see Professor McGonagall. She did so and promptly asked, "You needed to see me Professor?"

Minerva McGonagall gave Hermione a thin smile before saying, "Your classes are already set but there is one last matter to settle." She turned and pick something off of her desk. "Since you have so many it would be impossible to make it to all of them the school has been given special permission to let you have what is known as a Time Turner. I had to pull a lot of strings and tell them you were a model student to let the Ministry give me one of those. You are to never misuse that. To make it work simply turn it around to go backward in time. Don't get caught doing so and don't get caught in two places at the same time by the same person."

Hermione took a hold of the small hourglass on its chain as McGonagall went over even more rules over the use of the Time Turner. Her hopes of not being horribly busy this year were dashed but this would at least give her the chance to see Cho. McGonagall finished up the rules and said, "Oh and one more thing Professor Dumbledore asked me to tell you to met him tomorrow morning before first classes and to bring Miss Chang with you. I think all he wants to do is tell the two of you something though what it is I have no idea. That is all Miss Granger. Good Luck with your studies."

Hermione left McGonagall's office and promptly headed down to the feast. Shortly after the feast ended, Hermione ran into Cho and the two quickly found a quiet, out of the way place to talk. Cho spoke up first and said, "How's is your schedule for this year? We'll have to plan around both of ours if we're ever going to be able to see each other save for just in passing."

Hermione showed Cho her schedule but told her that there shouldn't be a worry about it and that she would be able to meet her at the end of next day. She spoke as Cho turned to go, "Oh Professor McGonagall told me to tell you that Dumbledore wants the two of us to come and see him tomorrow before classes."

Cho smiled and told Hermione she'd meet her after breakfast. She gave Hermione a parting kiss and headed off for her dorms.

Hermione finally got up to Gryffindor Tower, gave the password to get in and promptly went up to her room. It felt so good to be back here at school but at the same time, the worries that went along with it were back along with a few new ones. Hermione felt like this year was going to be a long one.

(Author's note: Summer and the very first day of Third Year. Seems like this is going to be a rather long year for Hermione and Cho. Hopefully you will enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to write. Read and enjoy.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands**


	6. Chapter 6: Concerns and Promises

Hermione found that she hadn't slept well the night before when she got up the next day. She couldn't think of a reason of why she had had such a fitful and restless sleep. She felt like she was happy for once but the nagging doubt that something was wrong kept crawling back into her mind as she made her way to breakfast. She had expected the usual good morning from Cho but As soon as Hermione walked into the great hall she saw that her expectations were not going to come true this morning as Cho was surrounded by several of her friends from Ravenclaw.

Breakfast passed without too much event. The rumours from last year seemed to have disappeared what with the dementors being far more interesting and rumour worthy. Hermione worried a bit inwardly about having to go see Dumbledore, not to mention the fact that she was worried about the responsibility of having the Time-Turner.

Hermione knew that this morning was going to be eventful as she tried to figure out how she would get to all of her classes without being caught or forget to go to one. She made her way out of the Great Hall, accompanying Harry and Ron as they discussed various things. She followed them and attended the class and as they left excused herself and tried out the Time-Turner to jump backward one hour so she knew that she didn't miss her first class that year.

She caught herself from trying to find Cho so they could go to Dumbledore as she knew that she was now an hour back in time and she was still with Harry and Ron. She watched from out of the way as Cho walked up to Dumbledore's office and then she went to join her. Cho looked a bit surprised and said, "I'm glad you could ditch Harry and Ron so easily. This is awkward enough having to go see Dumbledore."

Hermione wanted nothing more than to tell Cho exactly what she had really done but she knew that McGonagall wouldn't let her. She simply smiled and took a hold of Cho's hand as they made their way up to Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore was standing outside his office and he curtly said, "Good morning girls. Hold on a moment and we will talk in my office. Sugar Quills."

His last sentence had been directed at the statue that guarded his office and the two girls quietly followed Dumbledore up into his office. It still surprised Hermione how many things there were in Dumbledore's office as she looked around while Dumbledore seated himself. His sharp blue eyes seemed to look right through everything as he smiled and asked them both to sit.

"I can imagine what you both are thinking.'Why did I ask you to come here' being one of the questions I am going to answer. The other is why I did what I did last year. I do rather enjoy being able to show that I have a reason for everything although I don't just up and tell someone everything all at once." He looked at them both with a smile and said, "Now I asked you here to tell you that your charm is still in working order, so it seems you both still consider yourselves a couple. I also asked you here to tell you my reasons for allowing this relationship to exist and how the whole school doesn't know about it already."

Hermione relaxed a bit but she was still nervous about sitting here in front of Dumbledore. She took a hold of Cho's hand without realizing she had done so. Dumbledore continued, relaxing a bit himself. "It's part of the charm Professor Flitwick cast that prevents anyone you don't expressly tell about this from believing it to be true or being able to say both of your names in this connection should they suspect it. They will only be able to say one name of one of you and the house of the other. I did this so you wouldn't have to work so hard to prevent those you didn't want to know to find out, although it is by no means a reason to lower your guard. Now I allow this relationship to exist for one reason and one reason only. I believe firmly in the fact that love should be fostered wherever it is found. I also believe that love is some of the most profound magic we can create."

Hearing this surprised Hermione a bit. She knew that rumours here spread faster than news did by owl. So there had been something preventing the rumour from spreading too fast. She also felt like it had something to do with Harry's knack for just bring who he was and attracting much easier to spread rumours. Cho spoke quietly after a short bit of silence had filled the room. "Thank you for allowing this and protecting us that way Professor. You seem to realize just how fast rumours here spread and took steps to prevent this from getting out of our hands. If I may ask though, How come this didn't affect the Prefects?"

Dumbledore's eyes still had a hint of humour in them as he spoke. "That was simply because I had Professor Flitwick include only the current House Prefects of that year. After they leave here they'll forget this whole matter. The spell doesn't allow new perfects to know of it without being told by the both of you. The choice is yours to tell them as the current prefects are forbidden to tell anyone not just by threat of losing House points but by the spell itself that allows the two of you to visit each other. I will tell you though that should you attempt to visit the other more than once each term the spell does some very interesting work. It summons the nearest teacher to where you are and they will deal with you how they see fit. I must remind myself to commend Flitwick for this spell. It is by far one of his best inventions."

The two of them knew better than to try to circumvent such a spell and for once Hermione was glad she had always been the most responsible of her friends when it came to breaking rules. She hoped Cho was just as responsible and judging by the look in Cho's face when she looked at her, Hermione knew she was right. Hermione smiled at Dumbledore and said, "I don't think you'll have to worry about either of us trying to break through the charm."

Dumbledore smiled warmly and said, "Of course I shouldn't have to worry, but I think I will just in case. Now off you two go, or you will be late for your classes."

The two of them thanked Dumbledore for his time and quickly left his office and towards their classes. As they were about to go to their separate classes Cho stopped Hermione and said, "I know your schedule is a nightmare but do you think it would be possible for you to meet me this weekend? I've really wanted to go out to the lake again. For some reason I really miss those walks."

She thought about her schedule and how much she would need to study. All of her thoughts that year after she had received her schedule had been on her studies. She had almost forgotten to make room for Cho in her plans for how she planned to make it to all her classes. She knew that she would be able to make it, especially if it was in the evening. Hermione smiled and said, "I'll meet you in the Great Hall this Saturday evening. You're not the only one that has missed those walks. I think I know why we do miss them. It's because we never really get to spend much time alone while we're here and that was our only escape that wasn't the library. Being here is such a double edged sword. I see you everyday but I can't always say what I really want to when we walk by. It's annoying being so close to you and not being able to just give you a hug as we walk past each other in the hall."

"You could and say it was a friendly hug. Though what questions it would raise is beyond me. We do have the protection of Professor Flitwick's spell preventing anyone from believing the truth of what's between us. I imagine though that there are certain things that would be considered the same as telling a person about us." Cho said, her thoughts causing her to look a bit sad.

"Well it was a good idea. We'll think of something, I'm sure." Hermione said as she gave Cho a hug and a kiss before running off to her class.

That day had been the most hectic one Hermione had ever had in her life. She returned to Gryffindor Tower and immediately headed to bed. She hadn't felt this tired and stressed out about things since her first year at the school. Her mind raced with thoughts about what she was going to do so that she could actually see Cho more than just on weekends. She reminded herself to discuss Hogsmeade weekends with Cho next time she saw her which wouldn't be until that weekend. She promptly fell into a dreamless sleep, her mind still racing with her thoughts.

The weekend seemed to sneak right up on Hermione. She had been so busy with things that she hadn't realized that Saturday was the next day when Friday rolled around. She mentally reminded herself to go and see Cho the next evening.

Finally the time to go and meet Cho came around and Hermione was waiting for Cho in the Great Hall. She had arrived there a bit early but Hermione felt it would be better to be early than late. She was really thankful for the Time Turner she had hidden in her robes. The little hourglass shaped magical object meant she wouldn't be missing any time she could have used to study while she was out with Cho. She mentally chided herself to remember that her attention should really be on Cho instead of her studies. Hermione still couldn't shake the nagging doubt in her mind that something was going to happen between her and Cho that wasn't good.

Cho was smiling as she saw Hermione waiting for her. The two made sure no one was around and then gave each other a hug. Still holding onto Hermione Cho said, "I'm really glad you weren't too busy for me. I can only imagine how busy your week has been."

Hermione smiled and said, "Oh it's been busy alright. I'm sure I'll be able to make it to the end of the year though."

The two headed outside and down by the lake. Cho talked about her thoughts for how she and Hermione could meet up more often but every idea seemed to be destroyed by Hermione's schedule. As they sat down in their usual spot Hermione said, "There are always Hogsmeade weekends. That is if I can get away from Ron. Harry mentioned he wouldn't be able to go this year. Well knowing him he'll find a way."

Cho looked at Hermione and said, "That would work nicely. Too bad the first one won't be until a bit later on in the year."

A silence went between them as they simply sat there, Hermione leaning against Cho, as they watched the sun slowly bleed out its last light. Just as the sun was about to finish setting Cho suddenly said, "Hermione, I love you."

The way Cho had just suddenly said it surprised Hermione. "I love you too Cho." She replied. Her mind raced with thoughts as to why Cho had said what she had said.

"Something in my mind just came to that realization over the summer."Cho said simply. "I think it was that kiss your mother interrupted. It felt like it could have gone so much farther than it did."

Hermione was surprised by what Cho was implying. "It wouldn't have though. I'm old enough for kissing but I don't think I would be ready for that drastic of a step in our relationship."

"I never said you would have but to me it felt like it could have had you been." Cho said, looking at Hermione lovingly.

"Oh." Hermione said simply.

There was a bit of an awkward moment between them as Hermione shifted her position slightly. Cho broke the awkwardness by passionately kissing Hermione. Hermione fell into the kiss with the same passion with which it had given. It reminded Hermione strongly of the kiss that had happened between them over the summer. Cho slowly broke the kiss and then said, "I really do love you."

"And I you. But Cho, for now this is all there can be between us. I'm not ready to take the next step just yet." Hermione said, blushing as she spoke.

"I know and I'll respect that wish. I just wanted you to know just how much I care for you." Cho said quietly, almost whispering the words.

Hermione kissed Cho softly once more before they got up to head back up to the school. Their conversation had let Hermione know what Cho was thinking. Hermione felt like she had clearly told Cho everything that could possibly come of things for now. She worried slightly about what could have happened over the summer though. Had her mother not walked in on them what would have happened and would she have been able to stop Cho? Hermione knew that the answer to that would have been a simple 'no'. She had been too far into that kiss to have been able to do anything about it. While Hermione loved the fact that kissing Cho just made her forget everything she worried a little bit now that Cho might take advantage of it. The worry was a silly one and Hermione knew it since Cho had told her that she wouldn't push things too far but the worry was still there.

At the doorway into the school Cho gently hugged Hermione and gave her another kiss. After they broke apart from that one Cho quietly said, "Will you be able to do this next weekend as well? I would say earlier in the week but I know you're busy. I want to really talk about things more with you."

Hermione nodded and said, "Of course I'll be able to see you next weekend. I'll meet you at the same time in the Great Hall."

Cho smiled and said, "I'll be sure to see you there then."

The coming week made Hermione feel like maybe she really had tried to do too much. Even with the Time-Turner she still felt like there wasn't enough time in a single day to accomplish everything. Once more she was letting her thoughts drift away from Cho. She caught herself thinking that just last year she had thought far more often about Cho and what their plans for the coming week would be rather than her studies and now it was the exact opposite. It became even more evident of how little she was thinking about Cho when Hermione ran into her girlfriend in the hall by herself. Cho smiled and said simply, "See you tomorrow evening Hermione."

When Hermione didn't say anything Cho said, "Did you hear me Hermione?"

Hermione was dragged out her inner thoughts about Professor Vector's lesson. "Oh Cho, it's good to see you. Of course I'll see you tomorrow evening."

Cho gave Hermione a concerned look and said, "Are you alright?"

Hermione nodded and said, "I'm quite fine. Maybe a little tired. I'll see you tomorrow."

Cho looked a little worried as Hermione hurried off to her next class.

Hermione knew that she needed to work hard on her class work but she was forgetting Cho in the process. Saturday finally came and Hermione had had to write herself a note to remind herself to go meet Cho. Hermione hated the fact that she had to do that. Normally she would have simply been able to remember to do so. Evening slowly came and Hermione was almost late in meeting Cho. She came running into the Great Hall to see Cho waiting there. Cho's smile was little less warm than it had been but Hermione knew why.

The two didn't talk all that much on the way down to where they normally watched the sunset. The two of them sat down and Hermione looked at Cho. Cho was quiet for a minute and then asked, "Hermione, what's been with you lately? You seem to be so wrapped up in school work that you're forgetting those around you that you care for most. I'm not just talking about me either. I've been hearing that you've been arguing with Ron and yelling at Harry for no reason. You can tell me anything Hermione."

Hermione was quiet for a minute and then said, "I wish I could tell you everything but I simply can't. I swore I wouldn't tell anyone and I'm not going to break that promise but I can be at least a little bit honest with you." Hermione gave Cho a hug and continued, "I'm being so stupid forgetting how much my friends and especially you, care for me. I'm just so damned busy with all of my classes. I hate this, feeling like I'm going to mess up and then hear that I failed everything. I know I'm forgetting everyone around me and I'm not meaning to. I hate it Cho. I hate feeling like there's so much to live up to. Everyone expects me to be this perfect student and there are some times where I just feel like I just can't handle it."

Cho could hear Hermione crying as she spoke. It was tearing her apart to hear Hermione talk about what was going on with her. Cho really hadn't expected this kind of answer from her. She held Hermione tightly and said, "I'm here for you whenever you need me to be. I understand that you can't tell me everything but I'll try my best to understand how you feel. I hate seeing you like this Hermione. I know that everyone expects you to be this perfect person but that's impossible. No one is ever really perfect. Not me, not you, not even Dumbledore is perfect. So don't try to be. Just do your best and I'm sure everything will be fine."

Hermione was still crying as she said, "Why does it seem so damn hard to just do my best then?"

Cho sighed and quietly said, "Because you try too hard to be what those around you expect you to be. You weren't like this last year so it might be you simply have too many classes this year. I'm surprised you didn't break down earlier."

Hermione slowly finished crying and hugging Cho tightly said, "Thank you Cho."

"For what?" Cho said wanting to hear Hermione's reason for what she had said.

"For just being here. For being you. I'm so sorry if it seemed like I've been ignoring you. You've shown me that all you really have to do to show me you loved me was just being here for me no matter what I said or did." Hermione said with a smile.

Cho smiled back and gave Hermione a kiss. The sun had already set without them noticing it. The sky was still a deep dark red as they got up to leave. Hermione paused for one second and quietly said, "I love you Cho. I hope that nothing ever happens to tear us apart."

Cho smiled and said, "I feel the same way Hermione. Any time you need me, even if it's just to talk or a shoulder to cry on I'll be there for you."

Hermione gave Cho another kiss and after slowly breaking away said, "Thank you for that. I'll try to be better about accidentally ignoring you, but if I do you will at least know why."

"Don't worry, I understand how busy you must be trying to think about all the things you have to know, not to mention all the things Harry and Ron must put in front of you as well." Cho said as they reached the doorway to the Great Hall.

Hermione and Cho parted ways and as they did Hermione said, "Why don't you and I meet again next weekend and you can come on up to my dorm and spend the night? I could use the company."

"You sure I won't get in the way of your studies?" Cho asked surprised by Hermione's offer.

"Of course you won't get in the way. I need a bit of a break from all the constant studying anyway." Hermione said dismissing Cho worries.

Cho smiled and said, "That would be great. Same time as always?"

Hermione was grateful that Cho took her offer. "Of course. Next Saturday evening it is then."

Cho gave Hermione a parting kiss and the two went their separate ways to their dorms. Worry edged its way into Hermione's mind as she made her way back up to Gryffindor tower. She wondered exactly how she would be able to not study for a good portion of a day when she knew she would be backed up by homework by the end of the coming week. She shook her head and mentally told herself to worry about it when the time came. For now she wanted to only think about Cho and everything she had said.

Harry was quietly working on various things for the classes he was in as Hermione walked back into Gryffindor's common room. He looked at Hermione and said, "Something on your mind?"

Hermione knew that Harry probably had already had his own suspicions about where she had disappeared to. She looked at harry and said, "Just school work, that's all. You seen Crookshanks around? That cat seems to have vanished on me."

Harry shook his head and said, "I haven't seen your cat around. I'm sure he's fine though. You sure that school work is all that you have on your mind? You've been acting oddly since the start of the year."

"Nothing is going on Harry. I'm fine. Just busy that's all." Hermione said sharply.

Harry looked at her once more as if trying to find something in Hermione's eyes that said differently. He sighed and said, "Alright. I do have a question though about this spell that Professor McGonagall wanted us to work on."

A smile came to Hermione's face as she remembered what she and Cho had talked about. Hermione thought that maybe she didn't have to try to be so perfect. She gave Harry some help with his work, pointing out several points on which he had worked out a wrong conclusion or had skipped a step. Harry was thankful that Hermione was helping him and said so when she had finished. Hermione walked up into the girl's dorms and got into her nightgown. She slowly drifted off to sleep and for the first time in several days her last thoughts before falling asleep weren't of school work. This time they were of Cho and the time they had spent together over the summer as well as a few recalled memories of last year.

As she fell asleep Hermione knew that if Cho was always going to be there for her, she should be able to get through the year just fine. It was like that was all she needed to have heard from Cho to really believe what the two of them had said to each other on many occasions. For Hermione it was like today was the first time she really believed that she loved Cho and that Cho loved her back. Still her thoughts were poisoned by the quiet nagging doubt that it might not always stay like this. That thought was ignored and pushed back into a corner of Hermione's mind as she dreamed of Cho.

(Author's note: All I can really say here is thank Rowling for the Time-Turner. Without that this would have been impossible. With how this year is and Hermione's schedule being so hectic I was wondering how to get it to work that Hermione and Cho would be able to meet on a somewhat regular basis with Hermione still having enough time to study. The Time-Turner gives me the freedom to work around certain points in the story that would have been impossible, like Hermione's going to see Dumbledore early on the first day without missing her first class. Next chapter up as soon as I finish it. Thank you to everyone who reads this. Read and enjoy. That's what we're all here for. The simple enjoyment of reading and writing fanfiction.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands**


	7. Chapter 7: Concerns of the Heart

The week after that Saturday went a little better. Hermione found herself not worrying so much about everything but was still weighed down with a ton of work. Despite this though Hermione was in a better mood that week. She was yelling at Ron and Harry far less often and when she did, she usually had a reason for it. When she passed Cho in the hall she would smile and Cho would return the smile. Hermione felt relaxed for the first time since starting Third Year. She could tell that it was what she and Cho had talked about that had really helped improve her mood and helped her really deal with all the stress of having so many classes all at once and the stress of having to work at keeping the Time-Turner secret.

Time seemed to not be on Hermione's side though. Even with the Time-Turner she felt like there wasn't enough time in a day to get everything done. Homework seemed to be piling up as she had to spend several nights awake until sunrise or even until the start of the next school day finishing up the various assignments her teachers had given her. The morning of Saturday Hermione was seated in the same chair she had been in since the previous night. She yawned as daylight filtered through the windows of Gryffindor Tower. Hermione thought about using the Time-Turner once again to see if she could get some sleep but thought to herself that to do so would simply be abusing the device for personal gain.

The early risers in Gryffindor were already making their way out of the tower and down to breakfast in the Great Hall. Hermione thought about joining them and going to get breakfast early so that she would have enough time during the day to finish up the last few things she needed to do. Her mind ran through her list of assignments for Divination, Runes, Muggle Studies, and Potions. Everything else had been finished the night before from all of her other classes and she was trying to avoid Divination as much as possible. Her mind drifted back to Cho as she made her way through the halls of the school. It was nice to be able to think about something outside of her worries with studies and the problems Harry was having. The sudden passing thought of Harry made her remind herself to ask Cho when the next Ravenclaw Quidditch game was.

There were only a handful of students in the Great Hall this early in the morning and Hermione noticed that a good number of them were the various members of each House's Quidditch teams. She had heard Wood talking about practice starting up this weekend for many of the other teams as she seated herself at Gryffindor's table. She ate breakfast rather quickly as she wanted to get her studies out of the way so she could at least enjoy the time she would be spending with Cho instead of spending it worrying about how she was going to get everything done. She worked her way back up to the Gryffindor common room and was stopped by Ron who was headed down to breakfast. "You going to be studying again? Well that's all well and good Hermione but you should take a break once in a while."

It surprised Hermione that Ron was being nice to her. She hoped that he would come around to be more like this but her hopes were quickly dashed as he added, "Also make sure that rotten cat of your stays away from Scabbers. That beast has taken to stalking me around the dorms."

Hermione snapped slightly at Ron's comment. "Crookshanks is not some beast! He's a good cat doing what cats do. I'll let him do whatever he damn well pleases."

Ron gave Hermione a sharp look and then stormed off. Hermione sighed and continued on her way back to Gryffindor Tower. It always seemed like it was something simple and Ron just had to blow it out of proportion. Hermione wanted to talk with someone about it but knew that even Cho might not support her point of view on how Ron was acting. The stress from her studies had caused her to be sharp when she hadn't been meaning to and she knew it. She found a comfortable chair in the common room and set herself to work. She was disturbed a short while later by Harry who said, "Ron said you snapped at him for no good reason again. We're getting a bit concerned Hermione."

Hermione let her frustration get the better of her as she replied sharply, "Well that's none of your damn business whether or not I had a reason for being sharp with Ron. He blamed me for how Crookshanks was acting, like there's anything I can do about that."

"What's gotten into you Hermione? You've been nice all week and now you're snapping at every little thing." Harry said with a concerned tone in his voice.

"Well maybe it's because the two of you are bothering me over every little thing and I can't stand it anymore. Some of us have more to do than others Harry. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to get done. Unlike some of us who just waste their time with stupid things like Quidditch." Hermione said, her tone slightly angry.

Harry stared at her and left her in silence. Hermione immediately regretted being so short with Harry. After all he had only been concerned with her well-being. She busied herself with her work to forget the conversation as quickly as possible. Still it made her wonder if she would snap at Cho for no reason as well. Hermione didn't know how Cho would take something like that. Harry and Ron were her friends and could easily forgive her for her temper but Hermione wondered if Cho would be able to as well.

She knew her thoughts weren't any good. 'Of course Cho would forgive me for something like that. I could understand if it was something mean that she wouldn't forgive but if I apologise she should forgive me. After all, she does love me." Hermione thought to herself as she worked on the last bit of her Potions homework.

Several hours passed and Hermione knew it was getting close to when she had said she would go meet Cho. She finished up what she could of her last bit of Ancient Runes homework and went down to the Great Hall. Her mind was finally able to get off of her studies for a while as she walked through the halls, looking forward to seeing Cho. It made Hermione feel a little sad that weekends were shaping up to be the only times she would be able to see Cho.

As she walked into the Great Hall Hermione looked around for Cho but couldn't see her. Hermione assumed she was just a bit early and so found a place to sit. Hermione wished she had brought a book with her so it didn't look like she was waiting for someone. The sound of light footsteps approached and Hermione turned to face not Cho but Professor Flitwick. She looked at him with a surprised look on her face and said, "Good evening Professor."

"Good evening Miss Granger." Professor Flitwick said. "Miss Chang sent me with a message since she didn't want to ask one of the prefects out of embarrassment."

Hermione was surprised by this and said, "What was the message?"

Flitwick cleared his throat and said, "She wishes for you to come see her at Ravenclaw Tower. That was all she would say on the matter short of where to find you."

Hermione thanked Professor Flitwick and made her way up to Ravenclaw Tower. Hermione found the trip unhampered by anyone save for Filch who asked her what she was doing on this end of the castle at that hour. She skirted the question as she didn't know if Dumbledore had told Filch of her and Cho's relationship. Hermione finished her short trip up to Ravenclaw Tower where the door asked her simply, "What spell is best used to rid the caster of a normal non-magical fire?"

Hermione had to think about this one for a moment and then said, "An Aguamenti Charm."

"Precisely." Replied the door as it allowed her inside.

Cho met her on the other side of the door and hugged her fiercely. "Hermione it's awful." She said, her voice filled with fear and panic.

"What's wrong Cho?" Hermione asked suddenly very concerned by how Cho was acting.

Cho dragged Hermione up to her room which was devoid of Ravenclaw students. She turned around and Hermione immediately saw what the problem was. Cho had a cat's tail poking out of a hole she had cut into her robes so that it wouldn't be too uncomfortable. Hermione felt immediately sympathetic about Cho. Just last year she had almost become a complete cat herself. Cho was crying and said, "This kind of ruins you being able to come here again for the rest of semester but I didn't want to walk out there with this."

"How did it happen Cho?" Hermione asked as she tried to figure out some way of comforting Cho.

"I messed up a spell doing homework for Transfiguration class and Madam Pomfrey couldn't do anything about it. She just told me to wait the spell out. I'm worried that the tail won't go away. The ears already did." Cho said trying to stop her tail from swishing back and forth like a cat's.

Hermione smiled at this and said, "You had ears too? That must have been kind of cute."

Cho shot Hermione a look that was a mixed look of annoyance and love. "Can you wait with me until it's gone? Madam Pomfrey said that once the ears went the tail would follow shortly if it didn't go at the same time."

"Of course I'll wait with you. I know what it's like to be part cat for a while and it's not exactly fun." Hermione said as the two of them sat on the edge of Cho's bed.

Cho smiled and gave Hermione a much gentler hug than the one she had given her upon seeing her. Hermione wondered why Cho didn't tell Flitwick that was why Cho had wanted to meet her here. Hermione understood why Cho hadn't though. The way news spread throughout this school it was wonder Hermione hadn't heard of it earlier.

Cho smiled at Hermione and quietly said, "I wish I wasn't so clumsy with such an easy spell. The only bright point in all of this is that it didn't happen during class. I can't imagine how embarrassing that would have been."

"How embarrassing what would have been Chang?" Came a girl's voice from behind Hermione. "Who's that you got there with you?"

"It's nothing you need to worry about. This is Hermione Granger who Professor Flitwick said would be of great assistance to me with the help I need in Charms." Cho replied, not even bothering saying the girl's name.

"Yeah that something you really do need to work on Chang." The girl turned to face Hermione and said, "The name's Fawcett. Still not nice seeing a Gryffindor in this House's rooms regardless of what you're here for. Chang, why didn't you go and meet with her down in the Library?"

Cho shifted slightly to hide her tail better. "Because I didn't want anyone outside of Ravenclaw and Hermione knowing I'm not that good with Charms."

"Oh on first name basis with Granger are you?" Fawcett asked trying to provoke Cho.

Cho shot her fellow Ravenclaw a sharp look and Fawcett gave up trying to get anything more out of Cho. Hermione was grateful that Cho had quickly gotten rid of the girl. It wasn't the first time something like this had happened but it still made Hermione happy to know that Cho would stand up for her and give a rather decent reason for why the two of them should be together. Cho smiled at Hermione and said, "That was far closer than I wanted it to be. I can live with other finding out about the tail but having others find out I'm going out with you would ruin my reputation as well as yours. I'm fine with my reputation being harmed but I couldn't stand it if yours was as well."

"Thank you, Cho for standing up for me like that. You also stopped me from snapping at that girl for being so nosy. It's none of her business why I'm here." Hermione said quietly, hoping the girl was well out of earshot.

Cho suddenly made a small noise like a squeak as her tail slowly vanished. The miscast spell was finally wearing off and when the last evidence of Cho having messed up on a simple spell was gone the both of them sighed in relief. At least now that was one less thing they had to worry about. Cho looked at Hermione, the look of relief in her eyes made Hermione smile. "Well now that's over. I'd suggest we go out for that walk I had promised you but if you leave this tower you won't be able to get back in until next semester. Looks like you'll be spending the night here. That is, if you want to." Cho said softly so only Hermione could hear her.

Hermione gave Cho a hug and said, "I don't mind staying here. I'm just glad you're alright now."

The two of them spent the next couple of minutes quietly. There wasn't much to say that hadn't already been said between them. Hermione felt like maybe now would be a good time to ask Cho what had been on her mind for the past few days. "Cho," Hermione said quietly, "I'm worried that I might be losing Harry and Ron as friends. I've been snapping at them for no reason on several occasions and I know I've been acting horrid to them. What's wrong with me? I don't want to be mean to them but almost every time one of them speaks to me I can't help but snap at them."

Cho thought about what Hermione was talking about for a moment. It was a similar worry that Hermione had talked about the last time they had been together but for some reason even with the advice Cho had given her things had only become worse. Cho spoke deliberately making sure to say what was in her heart. "I don't think that the two of them would ever stop being your friends just because of something like that. Harry seems to be the type of person who can forgive people if they admit being wrong. You might want to think about letting a class or two go. The stress most of us get from a normal class schedule is more than enough. I can't imagine how you can handle your schedule. You need to just relax. Tell you what, first Hogsmeade weekend whenever it rolls around why don't we meet up and I'll see to it that you do nothing but relax and take the day easy. No books and no talking about school."

Hermione sat and listened closely to what Cho said. She wondered to herself if she really would be able to just spend one day entirely relaxed and not think about school. She nodded and said, "That sounds like a great idea. Hopefully I will actually be able to relax. Every time I've thought about just taking it easy I get overwhelmed with worry about how I'm going to get my school work done."

"I take it that your worries also take over your thoughts when you're planning to come see me." Cho said, looking away for a moment.

Hermione noticed this and out a hand on Cho's shoulder. "I'm sorry if it ever seems like I'm ignoring you. My mind just seems to be far more concerned about making sure I can get through this year alright. I feel like it's making me a horrible person to be more concerned about that then you or my friends. I love you Cho but I feel like what I'm saying you may take as just empty words because of all of this."

Cho looked Hermione right in the eyes and said, "Nothing you say that comes from your heart is empty Hermione. I know that you love me and don't want anything to happen between us. I don't think there's anything you could really do that would change how I feel about you. Even if you left me for whatever reason you had for doing so, I think that you would come back to me eventually."

Hermione smiled and hugged Cho. "That means a lot to me Cho. I'm really glad you found the courage to ask me for that walk last year."

Cho smiled at this and said, "I almost didn't actually. It took me the better part of the week before just to figure out what I was going to say let alone how I was going to get you by yourself. Looking back on it I'm really happy I made up my mind about things and went through with it."

Hermione gave Cho a kiss and hugged her tightly. Cho smiled and said, "Do you think you actually could help me with that spell I messed up on? That way we actually have something to do and it looks like you actually have a reason for being here. I feel bad that our plans were messed up because of me."

"Of course I'll help you. Well as much as I can anyway. Fourth Year spells might be a little above me." Hermione said with a smile. "You shouldn't blame yourself for messing up a spell. I don't think it messed up our evening at all. I still got to see you right?"

Cho nodded and the two of them set about working out what had gone wrong with what Cho had been working on. Hermione found out by reading the book Cho had that the effects of the spell if miscast were the appearance of a cat's tail and ears on the caster while the intended results made a pillow turn into an actual cat. The only thing that the book didn't say about the spell was how long the effects of messing up would be. Hermione laughed slightly at the moving picture that showed what happened when the spell went wrong. The reason the picture was there, Hermione guessed, was to serve as a warning to inexperienced witches and wizards. Cho tried the spell out a few times with Hermione's advice and tips and managed to perform it successfully twice in a row. A Prefect who knew about Cho and Hermione stopped by to see them, asking them if they needed any help with avoiding the attention of those who didn't know. Cho told the prefect simply that for now it would only look like Hermione was helping her with a few spells everyone already knew she had trouble with.

The evening wore on and the two talked and worked out several spells that Cho had been having issues with. Despite this being Ravenclaw and arguably the smartest House in Hogwarts, Hermione had found out from this that even the smartest people often have something that they cannot do. Hermione already knew her failing was in Divination. She had hated the class right from the first day that she had it. It felt relaxing to Hermione to be here and enjoying this despite it being about school work. Cho smiled as she worked out yet another spell rightly. Hermione had a strange feeling that Cho was doing this for her, not because she needed help with her work.

As night time finally came and it came time to head in for sleep Cho said one more thing before they walked up into the dorm. "Thank you for all your help tonight Hermione. I know that most of this was way above you but you're really talented and smart."

Hermione smiled and said, "Thank you for helping me get my mind off of everything for a while. Helping you rather made me forget about all of my worries for a while. Being with you was the best part about all of that. Being so close to you and not having to worry about anyone thinking it was anything more than what it looked like. It was relaxing in spite of the fact that it was school work."

Cho smiled and said, "Wait and see how I manage to do it during next Hogsmeade and then you can thank me for helping you relax. Tonight I just wanted to see you really happy and at ease like you were over the summer. The part about me messing up the spell on accident was true but all of the things I said I needed help on were all things I knew well enough already. I knew that if you got your mind off of your own life for a minute that you would be able to just let yourself relax." She hugged Hermione and said, "Come, we're gonna need some sleep if we're going to get up early."

Hermione looked at Cho and then followed her up to her dorm. It was something Hermione had only felt a few times before but for some reason, knowing that Cho cared about her enough to set aside her own worries to help, made Hermione feel really happy.

They settled in for the night and as Hermione snuggled in tight against Cho she quietly said, "There's just something about you that lets me be a side of myself I didn't know about. I can be relaxed around you and I don't have to be perfect for you to still love me. That's one of a few reasons I can think of for why I love you."

Cho pulled Hermione closer and said, "I'm glad you feel that way. I feel sort of the same way. That being near you allows me to lower my guard just a little bit and I don't have to worry about making myself look good. It's kind of nice to know that if I mess up something small that you'll be right there to help me fix it. Like with this whole thing today. You were there when I needed you to be. I hope that things stay like this."

"They will." Hermione said, "As long as we both want this and are willing to fight for it we'll always be here for one another regardless. It would take something unbelievable to tear us apart. I don't want to even think about what it would take. I'm happy just being right here with you and nowhere else wishing that I was."

Cho kissed Hermione on the cheek and went to put her head on the pillow when Hermione rolled over to face her. Hermione gave Cho a long, warm kiss and smiled at her before rolling back over and snuggling in close. It was always the little thing with Hermione that surprised Cho.

The two slowly fell asleep. They managed to both rest peacefully. There would be enough to worry about for later. For now they could just sleep. Tomorrow would have its own problems and solutions. As they slept the two of them both dreamed about the trip to Hogsmeade and the simple fact that it would be a day spent in relaxation.

(Author's note: This took forever to make flow correctly. Hermione's emotions are so convoluted throughout third year that she can go back and forth from good to bad without any warning. Cho's trying to help and it's slowly working. Next chapter coming soon. Read and enjoy. Reviews are nice too.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands**


	8. Chapter 8: Secrets

Hermione felt so much better about things when she woke up Sunday morning. She hoped the feeling would last her the rest of the week but she had a feeling that it wouldn't. She smiled as she looked over at Cho who was still fast asleep. It was early in the morning so many of the other students were still asleep. Hermione gently shook Cho awake and said, "Time to get up Cho. We're going to be caught by someone if you don't get going."

Cho groaned and stretched. "Good morning Hermione. Can't I sleep just a little longer?"

Hermione smiled and gently nudged Cho. "No you can't. Besides, I want you to come down to breakfast with me. I actually want to see if we can actually spend it together without anyone realizing anything."

Cho yawned and said, "There are moments where I wish we didn't have to skirt around the truth about us. But letting everyone here know wouldn't be exactly good for either of us. I'll be glad to join you for breakfast though. We've already found that the excuse for you being around me is tutoring stupid old me."

"You're not stupid Cho. You wouldn't have been attracted to me if you were. I tend to put people who don't know as much on edge." Hermione said sounding like she wished she wasn't as smart."

"Oh I know that." Cho said, "I know that you know I'm a smart person. It just makes the whole thing far more believable for other to think otherwise. You really know how to flatter a girl Hermione."

Hermione blushed slightly at this and said, "Well it is rather easy to do. I just think of what I would want to hear if I were on your side of things." Hermione paused for a second and then said, "Would it really be all that bad if we told people about this? Part of me wants to so things are far easier for us but another part just wants this to stay a secret and tell no one save for those who already know."

Cho sighed as she changed out of her nightgown and into her school clothes. "I don't know. That time when we told the Gryffindor Prefects about this it felt like a weight had come off of us and we didn't have to be so conscious of what we were doing while we stood in front of them. I think the only thing keeping us from telling everyone..."

"Is our friends and what they would say about it." Hermione said as she finished Cho's sentence. "I know this is something we'll both need to really think about. I really want to tell Harry and Ron but if Percy's reaction to it was any indication of how others will take it I'm more than content to keep it quiet for as long as we can."

They both made their way out of Ravenclaw Tower. They kept their voices down as they walked and continued their conversation. Cho spoke after they passed a pair of Hufflepuff students in one of the many hallways leading to the Great Hall. "I'm still wondering exactly why Dumbledore allowed us to be together and even going far enough to make sure our secret is protected beyond what we could do about it."

Hermione smiled and said, "I was thinking the same thing. It must be that Dumbledore really believes what he said to us about love, regardless of where it is found, should be encouraged to grow. I think he's right though. I have a feeling his reasons for everything are more complex than we can possibly imagine."

The two walked into the Great Hall and found that there were only a few students here this early. They found a place to sit and talk that was a bit out of the way. They were surprised when Ginny came over and said, "It's odd to see you up so early Hermione. You helping Cho with her school work?"

Hermione relaxed slightly as she knew that Ginny was one of the few that knew and were sworn to secrecy. She smiled and said, "There's no other reason I would be sitting with her is there? Well she is a friend of mine as well but like you said, I don't usually get up this early."

Ginny smiled and said, "It's good to hear that you're helping people out instead of trying to bite their heads off. You know Ron and Harry are going to be annoyed by this."

Hermione sighed and said, "I know. I honestly don't know what to do about this whole thing. It's not like Ron's being any easier to deal with and Harry is a completely different story. He just wants to be the helpful one and I can tell it's been hard on him having to be in the middle of Ron and me fighting."

"Well they say that people in love always argue." Ginny said offhand forgetting her manners for a minute.

Hermione blushed and tried to keep her voice down as she said, "You know damn well Ginerva Weasley that I don't think of brother that way and I'm shocked that you said that in the presence of my girlfriend."

Ginny looked at her with a look of shock. It surprised her that Hermione knew her full first name and then it came back to her that McGonagall had said it back at her sorting. "Sorry Hermione, it just slipped out."

Hermione sighed and tried to calm herself down a bit. Cho put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and said, "Don't worry Ginny. She's just been under a lot of stress and worry lately. When did Hermione tell you about us in the first place? It sounded to me like you already knew."

Ginny smiled slightly and said, "Oh I just happened to see the two of you kissing and I asked Hermione about it after you had walked off. She told me not to say anything about it and I haven't. It's good to see that you're still together."

Cho smiled back and said, "I guess the spell preventing anyone from suspecting that Hermione and I are seeing each other breaks when someone sees us kissing. Of course something like that is just as obvious as flat out telling the person. I'm glad that it was someone from one of our own houses instead of someone from Slytherin."

Ginny wrinkled her nose slightly and said, "I hate those Slytherin creeps."

"You hate who now Weasley?" came Draco Malfoy's high, pompous voice.

Hermione looked up at Malfoy and immediately said, "Beat it Malfoy. Go sit with the other filth in Slytherin."

Malfoy shot Hermione an angry look. "Or what Granger? You going to bore me to death with facts?"

He laughed as did Crabbe and Goyle who always followed him. Hermione got up and was about to say something to Draco when Cho suddenly got between them and said, "Get lost Malfoy or I'll call Flitwick to deal with this."

Draco mock shuddered and said, "Ooh I'm _so_ scared of that pintsize little excuse for a Charms teacher. And what is with you standing up for Granger anyway Chang?"

"None of your damn business and how dare you insult Professor Flitwick like that!" Cho said as she soundly slapped Draco as hard as she could.

The entire Hall went silent as Cho's words echoed off the walls. Draco turned and stared at Cho. His words were filled with hate as he spoke, "Mark my words the both of you, I'll have you reported to the teachers for assault."

Cho laughed and said, "Go ahead then. Run along to your precious Snape and tell him what naughty girls were are and that you got beat up by me. Try telling that story to your Slytherin cronies. Even Crabbe and Goyle here have enough sense between them to know you're going to be the laughing stock of the school for a while Malfoy. So go right ahead and run along to Snape. I'm sure he could use a good laugh this early on a Sunday."

Draco was livid as he turned around sharply and stormed off. A few cheers from both the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables were heard as Draco left the Great Hall. The silence that was once there was instantly broken by a cascade of talk and the clattering of plates as everyone returned to their breakfasts.

Hermione was amazed by what Cho had done. She stared at Cho for a minute and then said, "That was amazing Cho. I've never had anyone stand up for me like that."

"Well it wasn't just you I was standing up for after he insulted Professor Flitwick like that." Cho said as she sat back down. "Just one of many reasons I hate those Slytherins. They always think they're so superior. Like it's their right to be rude to everyone but their own kind."

Ginny thanked Cho and apologized to Hermione before heading off to join the other Gryffindor students. Hermione had felt like it was just another normal morning at Hogwarts as she ate her breakfast. A sound next to her told her someone had sat down next to where she and Cho were. Cho smiled as she looked over Hermione's shoulder and said, "Good morning Professor Lupin."

Hermione turned around and also said good morning. She always thought that Lupin always looked a bit ragged and it only got worse every time she saw him in Defence Against the Dark Arts. He smiled and said, "Good morning girls. Hopefully you don't mind my intrusion on your company. Dumbledore could hear the argument you were having with that Slytherin boy Malfoy and thought it best if a teacher were nearby so as to prevent it from occurring again. Always thoughtful that Dumbledore. Although he did say it was rather bold of the two of you to sit together at breakfast. And yes, before you ask, Dumbledore let me know about the two of you. You can more than trust me not to say anything about this, although the spell around the secret is rather complex. It's not unlike the Fidelius Charm. I actually wouldn't be surprised if it was one. The other spell on you is the exceptional part of the whole thing. I really must ask Filius how he managed it."

Hermione was glad that Lupin was there and for once glad that someone who knew wasn't going to constantly ask them about their relationship. The thought that it might be a good idea to just up and tell everyone raced through her head but the thought was quickly dashed when she recalled what had happened between Cho and Malfoy. She sighed slightly and wondered if she would ever be able to tell anyone while she was still here at school.

"You know Hermione, sometimes the weight of secrets can get to you and you're going to feel like telling someone will lift the weight but it won't." Lupin said, "Your worry about this is written all over your face. It's hard, isn't it, to stop yourself from telling everyone you know."

Hermione nodded and said, "It is but every time I think about it something like what happened with Malfoy occurs."

Cho agreed and said, "It those things and the thought of what others would say that keep us from having already come out and said it."

Lupin nodded. "I think I can see another reason Dumbledore picked me to come over here. It's like he knew we would talk about this. I've grown used to having to keep secrets over my lifetime so it is an easy thing to discuss how to avoid letting them out. Defending against the Dark Arts is not my only specialty."

For the rest of breakfast the three of them talked more about things. As they all left the great hall Hermione and Cho thanked Lupin for his advice and walked toward the door that led outside. The weather that morning was pleasant and there was a light breeze. Cho smiled and said, "I guess we can go on that walk down to the lake that I owe you."

Hermione smiled and the two of them walked down to the lake. Sun reflected off the water and they could see the giant squid that inhabited the lake rolling around just under the surface. Occasionally they caught glimpses of the merpeople that also lived in the lake. Hermione pointed out several things she had read in her copy of Hogwarts: A History as they walked around the lake.

Cho was smiling as they walked around the lake talking back and forth about everything but school work. It made Cho happy to see that Hermione was trying to put her mind on something other than her work. They stopped for a moment on the far edge of the lake and Hermione said, "You know I'm happy that with everything that's gone on this morning I've not once thought about how I'm going to finish up all my work or how I'm going to deal with all of my classes. I hope that Hogsmeade weekend with you will be like this. It's nice to be able to just forget everything like this."

Cho nodded and said, "It's nice to see you happy for once instead of constantly worrying about everything."

Cho gave Hermione a gentle hug. Hermione smiled as she pulled Cho in closely. "I don't know how often I can say this before you find it getting old, but I love you Cho."

"I don't think that could ever get old as long you mean it in your heart." Cho said softly. "Something like that doesn't just simply get old. You would have to stop loving me for that to grow old. It's like anything else. If it is just empty words than whoever hears them will tire of them but if the person really believes what they say then no matter how many times they say it, it will always sound like the first time it was said."

"You seem to know a lot about this Cho." Hermione said with a smile.

"It's something my mother told me when I was younger." Cho replied, "She was the one who told me all of that. She also told me that if I wanted something but wasn't sure about it to follow what my heart said."

"Have you told her yet?" Hermione asked.

"I will over Christmas holiday." Cho said as she looked away for a moment, "She deserves to know since she was the one who gave me the advice that let me ask you out that first time. I just don't know how to tell my father."

Hermione gave Cho a gentle kiss and then said, "I'm sure you'll find a way to let both of them know. I know I'm going to have a hard time figuring out how to tell my dad if my mother hasn't already told him."

Hermione knew it was a silly little worry for the two of them in the grand scheme of things. She laughed slightly as this thought passed through her mind. Cho gave her a questioning look and Hermione said, "I was just thinking how silly that little worry is for both of us when compared to everything here. I mean there are the dementors hanging around the school, Sirius Black on the loose and here we are worrying about what our parents are going to say."

Cho laughed as well as they started their return to the castle. "I guess it really is funny when you put it into that perspective. Things aren't a big as we think they are I guess."

Ron spoke for the first time since entering the Pensieve. He looked at Hermione standing next to him and looked at the memory of her younger self still talking with Cho as they walked inside. "What made it all fall apart? You two look so happy with each other. I don't see how it all ended for the two of you."

Hermione winced slightly at Ron's words. Like him she had been lost in the memories the Pensieve let her relive. "It was like this for a long time between Cho and myself. We really were happy. We argued of course like all people do. The trip to Hogsmeade that first time was the first time we ever fought. Third Year was the happiest time between us."

"This must be hard for you to watch, knowing it will end." Ron said quietly as the Pensieve slowly fast forwarded to the day before the first Hogsmeade trip.

Hermione watched her younger self and quietly said, "You have no idea."

The Pensieve returned to the normal rate at which the memory had been playing. It showed Hermione waiting in the Great Hall. She was reading a book as she looked around for a place to sit. Cho had asked her to come and meet her here so Hermione was simply waiting for Cho.

Cho finally arrived and said, "You ready for Hogsmeade tomorrow? No book, no school work, no school at all, just a day out with your girlfriend. I've got a nice surprise for you as well."

Hermione perked up at this and said, "Ooh, please tell me what it is. I simply hate not knowing."

Cho smiled at this reaction. Hermione's mood had still been going back and forth since their talk with Lupin several weeks ago. It looked to Cho like Hermione was going to be in one of her better moods today. "No I won't tell you, otherwise it won't be a surprise and you'll have nothing to look forward to."

Hermione loved how playful their conversation was being. It was as though they had finally become more comfortable around one another. She sighed slightly and said, "Alright, then I guess I see your point. I'll be waiting until tomorrow then. For now you had simply wanted to take a short walk, right?"

Cho nodded and said, "That was the whole reason for asking you to meet me here. You've been far too busy lately and could use the air. We haven't gone on a walk in weeks."

It was true that Hermione and Cho hadn't gone out to the lake since the time they had talked about what they would say to their parents. Hermione smiled and said, "You know what, you're right. I could use the air. Besides, this Arithmancy book is starting to give me a headache."

They walked down to the lake and noticed for the first time that year that the air was starting to grow cold with the coming of fall and the hint of winter was also on the wind. As they walked Hermione looked at Cho and said, "I'm sorry I missed your first Quidditch practice. How did that go by the way?"

"Oh it went well enough. You remember that Chaser who tried to get you to leave practice last year? Well he took a Bludger to the shoulder during practice. I clearly remember telling him he needed practice dodging. Speaking of Quidditch, our first game is next week. Are you going to come and watch?" Cho said as she smiled at Hermione.

"The whole school empties out to watch Quidditch. Of course I'll come and watch. It'd be rather daft of me to stay inside and read when I get use the excuse to watch you play." Hermione said lovingly.

Cho had been right. Hermione was in one of her better moods that day. As they made their way back to the school Hermione couldn't help but ask, "Where do you want to meet me in Hogsmeade? It's not like we'll be able to meet beforehand."

Cho thought about it for a moment and then said, "Meet me outside of Honeydukes. It's the sweets shop in town. You should easily be able to find the place."

Hermione nodded in agreement and they both agreed on a time to meet as well. Hermione kissed Cho goodbye and left for her dorm as soon as they entered the school. As she walked up to Gryffindor Tower she silently thanked McGonagall for being able to procure her a Time-Turner. So far it had been the only thing keeping Hermione ahead on her studies and still able to go see Cho. She knew that she would have to use it again during the trip to Hogsmeade but she had to think through what she and Ron would do while there so as not to be seen in two places at once. It would be far easier to just tell Cho about the whole matter but she had sworn secrecy about this so instead she found herself looking for Ron. She had to ask him what his plans were, even though she knew this would most likely be a pointless thing to ask him. She finally found him and she tried to be as nice as possible as she asked, "Any ideas on what we're doing in Hogsmeade tomorrow? I mean, it will be just you and me since Harry can't go."

Ron looked at Hermione and said, "Don't rub that in too hard on Harry. As for plans, do I look like I ever have any bloody plans?"

"No," Hermione said tentatively, "But I thought you might have some idea."

Ron rolled his eyes and said, "Of course I have an idea. I figure hitting Honeydukes, Zonko's and then Three Broomsticks should be more than enough for a day's worth of fun."

Hermione's mind quickly guessed at how much time Ron would spend in each place and whether or not she'd be able to delay him or if she failed that then pray whichever timeline of herself she sent with Cho would have the presence of mind to distract her long enough to avoid her seeing her with Ron. She smiled at Ron after her quick thinking session and said, "Sounds like a good plan. Hopefully this place is interesting. Hogwarts: A History only had bits and pieces on it."

Ron smiled and said, "Oh George and Fred say that it's right fun in Hogsmeade. Of course, they're usually off with Lee in Zonko's trying to plan some grand scheme. You we might see what's up with the Shrieking Shack. Fred says it's haunted but I think he's full of it."

"Well, Hogwarts: A History lists it as one of the most haunted places in all of Britain." Hermione said remembering the fact from the book like it was right in front of her.

"Well I don't care what some ruddy book says about it. I want to see for myself." Ron said in a rather annoyed tone.

Hermione agreed and Ron immediately put that into his plans. Hermione knew that that might just be enough to be able to let her plans with Cho work better. She decided to go with Ron the first time through that entire day and then use the Time-Turner to go with Cho. It would be the first time she had ever used it like to turn back that far. Four hours was the most she had ever done before this and that was so she could finish her work and still be able to go see Cho.

Hogsmeade the first time around had gone alright and she hadn't see herself or Cho as Hermione found a place inside of Hogwarts where she could turn back the entire day. She took out the Time-Turner in a small empty room she had found that looked like it hadn't been used in many years. She turned back the whole day by turning the little hourglass backward the appropriate amount of times to cover the hours.

She made her way to where Filch was seeing the students off to Hogsmeade. He stopped Hermione and said, "Didn't I already see you off?"

Hermione quickly thought and said, "I'm sorry, I had to run back to get something. I was hidden from you when I walked back past you."

Filch looked at her sceptically and then let her go. She made her way to Hogsmeade for the second time that day. She recalled that she and Ron had already left Honeydukes and headed off to Zonko's by the time she met up with Cho. Cho smiled and said, "Impressive job losing Ron like that. All you did when you walked out was smile at me and I saw Ron talking to you and I knew you would have to ditch him first. Harry teaches you that trick? I hear he has that same knack."

Hermione smiled back, thankful that Cho had taken that the way she did. "No, it's just something I picked up from both him and Ron. So, where are we going first?"

Cho smirked slightly and said, "Well, remember that surprise I told you about?" Hermione nodded and Cho continued, "Well there's this little tea shop near the edge of town that I've wanted to take you to."

Hermione smiled at this and said, "Oh that would just be lovely."

Her mind thought through her day with Ron trying to recall where they were when. Cho would most likely want to stay in the tea shop for a good long while so there probably wouldn't be too much chance of seeing her earlier self. Hermione remembered not seeing herself so she knew that this worked out okay. What she didn't know was if Cho had accidentally seen her.

They made their way through Hogsmeade neatly avoiding Zonko's along the way as Hermione knew that Ron was still in there making up his mind about what to get. The tea shop, which Hermione thought the name of which was absolutely silly, had a small sign that read 'Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop' as they entered the cozy little shop. As soon as they entered Hermione knew the rest of her day would be nice and there was nothing that could go wrong.

(Author's note: Well, cliff-hanger during the trip to Hogsmeade. The short scene with Ron actually saying something to Hermione as this is all being recalled states a question that is answered eventually. It's also a nod to the fact that this is all a memory for Hermione. Ron had a point in saying that this must be hard for her to relive. Hogsmeade is tied up next chapter; more things come out of their hiding places and get answered. Read and enjoy. Next chapter soon.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands**


	9. Chapter 9: Wishes

The tea shop was relatively empty but had the obvious design of being a place that almost exclusively served couples. Hermione felt a little nervous about it for a moment and then just decided to relax and not worry about it. That was the whole reason for being with Cho after all. She simply let herself forget about everything that was worrying her save for where she had been the first time through that day.

Cho ordered their drinks after they had sat down. She looked at Hermione and said, "I like it here. One of my friends pointed the place out to me the first time I came to Hogsmeade. It's so comfortable in here. Very few students from school stop in here so it's the perfect place for us to just talk."

"I didn't even know this place was here." Hermione said quietly.

Cho smiled and took a sip of her drink. "Not many students do. And those that do know it's here are mostly Sixth and Seventh Years that are couples. So, what's been on your mind lately? We haven't really had much time to talk about things recently."

Hermione nodded and slowly took a sip of the hot coffee that Cho had ordered for her. "It's been really hard, not being able to come and see you when I really wanted to. Everything is still really stressful but I'm slowly managing. I'm thinking of dropping one of my classes anyway. I'm not fighting with Ron and Harry as much. I've slowly be able to stop snapping at them so much but it still happens from time to time. All that's been on my mind besides that is you and what we're going to do about Christmas Holiday. I'm thinking of just staying here and working on things."

Cho's smile faded slightly and said, "Mother wants me to come home because of all this nonsense with Sirius Black and there being dementors around the school. I don't think she'll listen to me if I ask to stay simply because you are. It's just like last year. Only difference is that it's not some monster after us." She paused for a second and then said, "This school is really unusual, isn't it?"

"It certainly makes for some exciting days." Hermione said. "It is a bit of a shame that you won't be able to stay for the holidays."

Cho nodded and they talked for a while on various things ranging from what their favourite Muggle outfit was to what they wanted to do over the next summer. Hermione excused herself for a moment to go to the restroom and Cho waited for her. As Cho stared out the window into the street she couldn't believe what she had seen. She had seen Hermione walk by outside and she wasn't by herself. She was with Ron. It didn't make sense to her. How could she be in two places at once? Unless she had snuck out of the shop without Cho noticing. Cho decided to wait for Hermione and ask her what was going on.

Hermione returned and upon noticing how Cho looked asked, "Is there something wrong Cho?"

Cho stared at Hermione and asked, "I just saw you walking by outside. I don't know how you got out there that fast but I want an explanation to this and I want to know what is between you and Weasley as I saw he was with you."

Hermione panicked slightly. She couldn't tell Cho about the Time-Turner but at the same time she didn't want to lie. She tried to word what she said as best she could. "Cho, I can explain that, or rather I would, but I can't."

"Why in hell not?" Cho said raising her voice.

"Trust me when I say this. I swore to not tell anyone about this and that includes you Cho. McGonagall would have my head if I did." Hermione said as she looked at Cho.

"You're lying. You're sneaking around behind my back aren't you?" Cho said, lower her voice so as not to be yelling.

"What have I ever done that would make you say that? I love you and only you. There's nothing between me and Ron or anyone else for that matter." Hermione said hoping Cho would believe her.

Hermione was confused by what Cho was saying. She knew the only way out of this argument would be to tell the truth about the whole matter but she just wasn't sure. Cho walked out of the shop in a slight huff and Hermione quickly followed. Outside Cho took Hermione by the hand and took her to a small alley where they would be able to talk without being overheard. Hermione opened her mouth to speak but Cho interrupted her by putting her hands on Hermione's shoulders and pinning her to the wall of one of the buildings that made up the alley. "Tell me the truth behind this Hermione. Whatever it is, I'm sure that McGonagall would understand you telling me about it." Cho said in a sharp tone.

Hermione sighed slightly and said, "I guess I can't hide it from you anymore. I had a feeling it would have happened anyway. I just wanted to avoid it as long as possible." She pulled out the Time-Turner on its gold chain and showed it to Cho. "This is how I've been able to make it to all my classes, get my homework done and still have time to come visit you. Without this I wouldn't have been able to take all of my classes. It's called a Time-Turner. Professor McGonagall made me swear to use it only for studies and to not tell anyone about it. I don't think using it to come and visit you is such a bad misuse of it but bad things can happen when you mess around with the past. I've been taking great care not to be caught in two places at once. It seems it didn't work out after all. What you saw was me but that was before I used the Time-Turner to come and meet you while still staying with Ron who would notice I was gone. Ron is my friend, nothing more. You have friends and I don't get jealous of them simply because you're with them."

Cho stared at the ground and said, "Sorry about that. I had no idea. Small wonder you've been under such stress this year. I'm sorry for calling you a liar."

Cho was still holding Hermione against the wall as she kissed her passionately. Once more Hermione felt reminded of that kiss over the summer. Cho held the kiss for as long as she could before slowly breaking it. The kiss had left them both breathless. Hermione smiled at Cho and said, "I can't turn down an apology like that. I don't think anyone could. How on earth did you get to be so good at that?"

"I have you." Cho said simply "You drive me to be better at everything so I can make you happy."

Hermione looked at Cho and said, "I am the first person you've asked out right?"

Cho nodded and said, "Of course. You're the first person I have ever dated in my life. Why do you ask?"

"Well, how on earth are you getting better when I'm the only person you would kiss like that?" Hermione said still amazed at how good of a kisser Cho was.

Cho shrugged and said, "Maybe I just have a natural talent for it. Every time I've kissed you or you've kissed me I'm always thinking of how to make the kiss better. So it's probably some combination of the two."

Hermione giggled slightly and said, "I guess you're right."

The two of them returned to Hogwarts at the end of the day and the news around school surprised Hermione. The portrait that had always guarded the way into Gryffindor had been attacked by Sirius Black. Hermione's heart sank. This might mean that Cho would be unable to come see her for the rest of the year if the portrait changed. The Fat Lady knew about the arrangement between Hermione and Cho but the new portrait that was going to temporarily replace her wouldn't.

Hermione thought about asking McGonagall about the whole matter, to see if there was anything that could be done. The thought quickly vanished though as the Gryffindor students were lead into the Great Hall. Percy walked over to Hermione and pulled her aside for a moment and said quietly, "Professor McGonagall told me that there's no way for you and that Chang girl to see each other at Gryffindor tower for at least the rest of semester, possibly longer."

Hermione looked a Percy and said, "I know you disapprove of this whole thing but at least call Cho by her first name Percy. I had a feeling this was going to be the case anyway. Did Professor McGonagall say anything else about it?"

Percy shook his head, "Sorry Hermione. That was all she said about it. There's not much more you can do about it. And before you even think about going around this like Potter does with the rules, you can be very sure that I will report you to Professor McGonagall."

Hermione glared at Percy for even thinking that she would try to find a way around this. As Percy walked away she quietly said to herself, "That Percy is such an insufferable arse."

Ron happened to walk by and hear this. "Good to know I'm not the only one who says that about him when he tells me something about rules"

Hermione jumped slightly and said, "Ron! What did you hear?"

Ron shrugged and said, "Not much really, just caught Percy's tone and knew he was being his usual self. Just ignore what he says. George, Fred and I usually do. We're all a little jumpy about this whole thing. I vote for sleep right now."

Hermione was glad that Ron hadn't heard any of her and Percy's conversation. It would have been immensely awkward having to deal with that. That night though, despite all of the talking that went on, Hermione only worried about one thing. She worried that Cho might mistrust her slightly after the incident in Hogsmeade. Even though Hermione had explained it she felt like Cho didn't really take all of it to heart. Sure Cho had forgiven her for the whole thing but it felt like Cho hadn't believed her when she told Cho that there was nothing between her and Ron beyond being friends.

As she tried to get some sleep, Hermione was still worrying about it and decided to ask Cho about the whole matter as soon as possible. The only problem Hermione had with that plan was how Cho would react to it and if it would simply spark another argument. Hermione tried to calm her mind and trust Cho to be understanding like she always was.

The next morning Hermione woke up and felt immensely tired. She hadn't slept well the night before. All of her thoughts had kept her awake until her body demanded sleep enough to cause her to pass out from exhaustion. She yawned and stretched. Her worries were still on her mind as she went to her various classes. She hoped she would run into Cho at some point that day and be able to ask her about seeing if they could meet over the weekend.

Lunchtime that day finally came around, allowing Hermione a bit of a break from the stress of turning time back to be able to attend her classes without being caught by students. As she sat down for lunch Cho immediately sat down next to her and looked at Hermione with a smile. "I feel like we could use a good walk. Meet me this evening. Besides I'm sure there's something we need to talk about." Cho lowered her voice so as not to be overhead, "I love you so much. You know that, right?"

Hermione felt her worries vanish somewhat at Cho's words. She knew that Cho really meant what she said. Hermione smiled at those words and said, "I know. I love you too. I'll be more than happy to come meet you and go for that walk."

It had surprised Hermione that Cho had come and asked her instead of it being the other way around. It was something she hadn't really been expecting to happen. What Cho thought that she wanted to talk about worried Hermione a bit. She left for her classes knowing that she would have to work meeting Cho into her schedule but at least it was something she would enjoy doing.

The rest of the day went smoothly. The only thing bothering Hermione was how Cho knew they needed to talk about things. Maybe she hadn't hidden this fact as well as she had tried to. When evening finally came Hermione headed down to meet Cho a little early. She wanted to clear her mind of everything that involved school. Cho showed up a few minutes after Hermione and without anything said between them the two of them headed outside. It was getting cold enough outside now to let Hermione know that this was probably going to be one of the last walks outside they were going to have until springtime.

Cho spoke first after they had walked a good distance from the school. "You looked like you had something on your mind at lunch. That's why I asked you to come with me today instead of later this week. What is it that made you look so concerned Hermione?"

Hermione looked at Cho and took a deep, slow breath before speaking. "I'm concerned about us, Cho. I slept horribly last night. I couldn't stop wondering if you didn't believe me when I told you I was just friends with Ron and that..."

Cho stopped Hermione midsentence and said, "When you tell me something and I know you mean it I will always believe you. I knew you meant it when you said there was nothing between you and Ron. I guess I'm just a jealous lover. I'll try not to overreact like that again. I have something to ask you as well. What of Gryffindor Tower and the portrait? I hear it got destroyed."

Hermione was glad that her worries had been for nothing. She relaxed and the nervousness she had been feeling went away. "Oh that stupid git Percy told me there's nothing we can do and that I shouldn't try to find a way around it. I just wish he had been nicer about it."

Cho smiled slightly and said, "Well I guess it can't be helped. It should only be until the portrait is fixed right?"

Hermione sighed slightly, "I don't know. That should be the case but I have no idea how long that will take. Looks like we'll be limited to just Ravenclaw tower once a semester until then. I'll ask McGonagall about the whole matter after Transfiguration tomorrow but I'll doubt it will be of any use."

Cho smiled and hugged Hermione. "At least you're willing to try. I would hate to see you just give up on the whole thing."

Hermione smiled and kissed Cho. Relationships weren't meant to ever be truly perfect and Hermione knew this but she hoped that this one would be as close to that as possible.

The memory faded as Hermione and Ron pulled back from the Pensieve. Ron looked at her for a moment and then back at the Pensieve. "I thought you said that the relationship didn't end there. Why did you pull back from the memory?"

Hermione looked at him and had to take a moment before answering. "The rest of that year was flawless between Cho and I. After that day in Hogsmeade we had patched everything up and it all worked out just fine. Summer of Third Year was the same for the one week she and I spent together."

Ron interrupted her and said, "What is your point Hermione? Why are you telling me all of this? How am I supposed to understand it if I haven't seen all of it yet?"

"I was getting to that." Hermione said in an annoyed tone. "It was Fourth Year where it all fell apart. When I take you back it will be just a couple of weeks before the Yule ball. The whole reason of this is something I'll tell you when the memory inside this Pensieve ends. You'll know when it gets there."

Ron sighed slightly and said, "You were right. I do have no idea how hard this must be for you to watch. You'll have to tell me why it took you so long to tell me."

Hermione nodded and then they both returned to Hermione's memory.

-Fourth Year-

McGonagall's office looked like it had for the longest time. Hermione was there with Cho after they had both received an owl telling them to come to McGonagall's office. Minerva McGonagall stared at the two of them with her piercing gaze and said, "I know you are both wondering why I asked you to come here. I suppose I shall just come out and say it then. You are under no circumstances to take each other to the Yule Ball."

Hermione was furious with this news. She couldn't think of anyone else she would rather spend that day with other than her girlfriend of just over two years. Cho was equally annoyed judging by what she said. "What do you mean I'm not allowed to take Hermione to the ball? Ever since I heard that news on our first day back that has all I have been able to think about. She's my girlfriend Professor. I can't possibly find a reason why we shouldn't go together."

"The Headmaster agrees with me on this even though he expressed his dislike of my decision. You can ask him about the whole matter if you wish but the answer will be the same. The risk of you being found out as a couple is just too high. If this were a purely Hogwarts event I would allow it but since it is not I have no other choice but for you to find other dates. I'm sorry girls." McGonagall said in a slightly stern tone.

Hermione grabbed Cho by the hand and walked out of McGonagall's office as soon as McGonagall had stopped speaking. Hermione looked at Cho and said, "We're going to go see Dumbledore about this. I can't believe Professor McGonagall won't let us take each other to the Yule Ball. You're my girlfriend and I don't want to take anyone else."

Cho nodded and said, "I know Hermione, I feel the same way about all of this but if it is something we can't avoid we'll just have to go along with it."

They made their way up to Dumbledore's office. For a weekend the school seemed rather busy but it wasn't completely out of the ordinary. Upon reaching Dumbledore's office Hermione guessed the password and the two of them went up to the door behind the statue and knocked. Behind the door Dumbledore simply said, "Come in."

As the girls entered Dumbledore looked up and said, "Ah girls. I was expecting you after I heard what Professor McGonagall was going to tell you. Sadly there is nothing I can do to help you. I dearly wish there was. There is something I feel I should tell the two of you before you leave. You have both probably wondered at one time or another why I encourage your relationship and why I have helped the two of you out so much."

Both Hermione and Cho nodded. Hermione spoke for both of them and said, "It is something I think we both wonder about from time to time. Cho mentioned something like that to me over this past summer. I guess you could say it is something we wished answered."

Dumbledore laughed slightly and said, "I dare say you want it answered as completely as possible as well. Well this is something I only have ever told one person and even they did not quite believe me. I too once shared what the two of you have with another man. Sadly it did not end in the way I wished it to but those things happen. This is why I firmly believe that if two people really do love each other than they should be encouraged and that love allowed to grow and flourish. This is why I disagreed with Professor McGonagall about not allowing the two of you to attend the Yule Ball as a couple. I do see her wisdom in it though and that is why I allowed her to move forward with it. This will be hard on the both of you. You will have to learn how to not fall into thoughts that will tear you apart. Nothing is stopping you, however, from having a moment to yourselves after the Yule Ball is finished. I wish you both the best."

They thanked Dumbledore and quietly left his office. Hermione was still disappointed with the whole matter but learning why the relationship had been allowed and to hear that Dumbledore had stuck up for them was more than worth the visit. "You know, I think we'll be able to get through this. If Professor Dumbledore believes we can then we will." Hermione said as she gave Cho a hug before heading off to Gryffindor Tower.

Cho smiled and said, "You know I think we will. It's going to be really awkward though. I'm going to find it hard to play along with this."

Hermione giggled slightly and said, "It'll be even more awkward having to accept an invitation to the dance from a boy. I just hope it's someone that I either know or can easily ignore."

Cho laughed at this and the two of them said goodbye as they both headed off to their dorms. Hermione hoped to herself that it would only be that easy. She was promptly disappointed when she almost ran into someone. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

The person she had almost run into was Viktor Krum from Durmstrang. He turned and his heavily accented voice made it hard for Hermione to clearly hear what he said. "It is my fault. I should not be standing in the halls. Ah Hermione, I have a question I have been wanting to ask you. Would you go with me to the Yule Ball?"

Hermione was surprised by this. At first she had entirely understood what he was saying then what he was saying became clear to her. She really hadn't expected this and really didn't want to but she had no choice in the matter. "Of course I will. I can also try to teach you how to say my name correctly as well. It is a rather hard one to say in the first place."

Viktor laughed at this and Hermione was glad he had taken it as a joke and not an insult. It was a nightmare to have to go to the Yule Ball with one of the Triwizard Tournament Champions but Hermione knew that she really didn't have much choice in the matter. She wished she had been able to go with Cho but she knew that wishing was futile in this case.

A couple of days later Cho came up to Hermione during lunch and said, "I just got asked to the Yule Ball by Cedric Diggory. You get asked by anyone yet?"

Hermione sighed and said, "Krum. Viktor Krum asked me not two minutes after I left you to walk back to my dorm the other day. I hate this Cho. I hate that I can't go with you."

Cho sighed and sat down next to Hermione. "I know. I don't like it any more than you do. At least the boy that asked you out didn't tell you he liked you."

Hermione looked at Cho and said, "Diggory told you he liked you? What did you say?"

Cho sighed and said, "I told him what he wanted to hear. I had to lie to him but I think he thinks I was being honest. Hermione I feel awful about all of this. I love you and I can't even be honest about it to someone. I just want this to all go away. I just want to be with you."

Hermione wanted to hug Cho so bad but the most she could do was to put a hand on Cho's shoulder to comfort her. "I know. We'll find a way to get through this. It'll be just fine when this is all finished."

Hermione hoped she was right. This really felt like it was going to test their relationship more than anything else had before.

(Author's note: Viktor's manner of speech in the books is not mimicked here for one very good reason. It is really hard to get right and that it is rather hard to read. The character would still have the accent though, as mentioned when Hermione has a hard time understanding him, but it is not written out like it would be said. Next chapter to come soon. Read and enjoy.)

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands**


	10. Chapter 10: Another Story to be Told

The days leading up to the Yule Ball had been something Hermione had been wishing for but now with McGonagall's rule, she was dreading it more and more as the day grew closer. It was a good thing that Viktor had only expressed a desire for friendship or Hermione knew she would have reacted badly. Even hearing Cho talking about Diggory to other Ravenclaw girls was something Hermione was barely tolerating. Two days before the Yule Ball Hermione walked by Cho talking animatedly about Diggory and making it sound like she was dating him. She waited until Cho's friends had walked off before Getting Cho's attention and finding a place where they could talk.

An abandoned classroom was just the thing Hermione needed. She pulled Cho inside and shut the door before saying, "What in bloody hell was all that in the hall?"

Cho looked down at the floor and said, "None of it was true. The whole time I was standing there talking about that boy, you were the only thing on my mind. I don't like it anymore than you do Hermione. I hate having to pretend to be something I'm not. When Yule Ball ends I'm going to tell Diggory the truth. I want him to know."

Hermione was still fairly mad with Cho. She tried to control her anger as she spoke. "Why does he have to know? I haven't had to tell Viktor about any of this."

Cho let her frustration out on Hermione. "You haven't had to pretend to be his damn girlfriend! You're the one that I want to be with, not that damn fool of a boy. When will you get it that I am not enjoying having to act like this in front of everyone? I hate that McGonagall forced us into this. I hate the whole damn thing about keeping this quiet." Cho calmed down for a moment and then continued. "It's days like this that I really want everyone to know so I don't have to hide behind lies. That's why I want to tell Cedric. I want to be able to just let it out and just be able to say that you're my girlfriend. I just...know I can't do that."

Hermione sighed as she realized that this whole mess hadn't just been hard on her. It had been hard on Cho as well. She walked over to Cho and gave her a hug. "I'm sorry Cho. With everything that's been going on this year I seem to have forgotten that this whole thing has been hard on both of us. I wish McGonagall had let us go together but we have to deal with this the way it's been laid out for us. I can promise you one thing though."

Cho smiled slightly and said, "Oh? And what would that be?"

Hermione smiled and said, "I will go to the Yule Ball looking my best simply because you will be there and you are the person I want to stop and take notice. I'm sure it will gather the attention of the boys that are there but as long as I can capture your attention as well I'll be happy."

Cho gave Hermione a kiss and said, "You've already captured my attention. I'll make sure to see you while we're at the Yule Ball. It should be easy enough to find an excuse to steal a moment away from our escorts."

Hermione smiled at this and agreed to Cho's plan. Trying to slip it past the teachers wouldn't be terribly hard either. Hermione knew they would be a little too preoccupied by the Yule Ball and various other things to notice that she and Cho had slipped off by themselves for a minute. She only hoped that they would be able to handle this for the next couple of days. The amount of stress she was under felt like it had during her third year. It was only a small thread holding it all together and preventing Hermione from just breaking down and letting all of her worries and frustration out on someone.

The day of the Yule Ball itself came far faster than Hermione had expected it to. It was odd to think that once this evening was all said and done that she could simply be Cho's girlfriend and not have to worry about Viktor or Cedric and the rumours surrounding all of them. Hermione knew exactly how she wanted to look for the Yule Ball itself and spent a good portion of her day getting ready. When the time came to actually go down to the Ball she waited for her escort Viktor, who arrived right when he said he would. His comment on her looks was something Hermione was wishing she would hear Cho say. Viktor had taken one look at her and said, "You are looking amazing this evening Hermione."

Hermione smiled slightly and said, "Thank you Viktor. I know it's hard for you to say my name right so I'll try and say it slowly so you can see if you can get it sounding better."

Viktor brightened at this and Hermione immediately dove into teaching him how to say her name. Her success was limited though. She gave up and politely told Viktor that it was simply close enough. Part of her was wondering why she was even going to those lengths when she knew nothing could or would ever come of this evening. As she walked into the Great Hall the students that were there looked surprised and several took a minute to figure out that it was Hermione.

Cedric and Cho were already there and Viktor stopped near enough to Cedric for Cho to lean over to Hermione and say quietly, "You look absolutely beautiful Hermione. I almost didn't recognize you."

Hermione blushed slightly and replied, "Thank you Cho. Words escape me for how good you look tonight."

Cho blushed a bright red and Cedric slid into the conversation, "Hello there Hermione. I see you met my beautiful date for tonight. You must know Cho Chang from Ravenclaw, after all she does play Seeker for their Quidditch team."

Hermione smiled and politely said, "Yes, Cho was just complimenting me on how I looked and I was returning the favour. You are certainly lucky to have her for this evening."

Hermione mentally kicked herself for referring to Cho by her first name but luckily Cedric did not catch it. He simply smiled and said, "Well, it's nice the two of you got along so quickly. You must be driving the girls here at the school absolutely crazy with you being Viktor's date. Especially those Beauxbatons girls. Some of that crowd look like they have it out for you."

"Thank you for the warning." Hermione said, still trying to be polite and holding herself back from smacking Cedric.

She hated to see her girlfriend with Cedric. She imagined Cho felt the same way about the whole mess. It was only wishful thinking now that McGonagall would suddenly change her mind. As uncomfortable as she was Hermione knew that she might actually be able to enjoy this if she just ignored her thoughts for a moment. She sighed slightly as she learned that the various school champions and their dates were to lead off the start of the Ball.

As the Yule ball finally got under way Hermione found herself actually enjoying it a bit more than she thought she would. She let herself forget her worries for as she danced to the music that filled the Great Hall.

After several songs Hermione felt like she actually wanted to take a break and look for Cho. She politely asked Viktor to get her something to drink. As soon as he was out of eyesight she started to look around for Cho. A light tap on her shoulder was accompanied by a voice that said, "Glad to see you got a moment away from your date Hermione."

Hermione turned to face Cho who looked about as out of breath from dancing as Hermione was. Hermione smiled and said, "Looks like you managed to do the same. Do you mind if we try and find somewhere a little less noticeable?"

Cho nodded and said, "Of course I don't mind. I did tell Cedric that we would have one more dance though so we can't be too long."

"I told Viktor the same thing." Hermione said as they worked their way out of the Great Hall.

As soon as they were by themselves Cho gave Hermione a hug and a passionate kiss. They kissed for a couple of minutes before Cho slowly broke the kiss. She smiled at Hermione and said, "You know, ever since Professor McGonagall told us that we couldn't take each other I thought I wouldn't be able to enjoy today. This makes it all worth it though. Being able to be with you like this even just for a moment. It makes all of the lies and all of the stress and pain worth it. I still don't like dancing with someone other than you though. What I hate is having to tell Cedric about us at the end of all of this. He really does like me but I can't return the sentiment because my heart belongs to you."

Hermione sighed and said, "I don't think anything like that will be easy. At least I know your heart is in the right place though. I never doubted it, but it is nice to hear. I really do love you more than I know how to put into words."

Cho blushed and kissed Hermione again. "I know exactly how much every time I kiss you. You don't have to put it into words for it to be felt. We should get going back before anyone notices we're gone."

Hermione nodded and followed Cho back to the Great Hall. She wished they could have just stayed there together for the rest of the evening. She knew that everything needed to be straightened out between Cho and Cedric before they could move on with life. It felt like everything was about to become far more complicated than it needed to be.

The Yule Ball slowly came it a conclusion and everyone slowly made their way back to their dorms. Hermione tried to find Cho once more before the end of the night and finally found her after a few minutes of searching. She noticed that Cho was still talking to Cedric and Hermione decided it was best if she stayed out of it for now. That was until she saw Cedric give Cho a kiss. Hermione felt her heart break as she watched someone else kissing her girlfriend. She saw that Cho had seen her and Hermione turned around and ran off.

Tears filled her eyes as she tried to find a quiet place to just sit and cry. Hermione knew better than to jump to conclusions but this was one too easily jumped to. Cho had broken her trust not a few hours after saying everything she had to her. Hermione thought to herself, 'Why would Cho be kissing someone else if her heart truly belonged only to me?'

Cho finally found Hermione and was breathless from running after her. She was slowly catching her breath as she said, "Thank God I found you. I know what you saw and probably what you thought you saw. Cedric was only giving me a kiss on the cheek and a wish that you and I would be happy together. He understood that I loved you Hermione. It wasn't what you thought."

Hermione looked up at Cho, her eyes filled with tears. "It still hurt Cho. It felt like my heart was breaking apart, seeing you with someone like that."

Hermione simply broke down crying again. Cho hugged Hermione tightly, not caring if anyone could see them like this. "I'm sorry Hermione. You must think I'm horrible for allowing that to happen. He surprised me when he did it. As soon as I saw you standing there I knew that you had thought it was something else. I know that no explanation will ever help to get rid of the hurt you felt. I love you, I really do. Dumbledore must have known something like this would come up and that's why he warned us that this whole thing would test our resolve to love each other."

Hermione held onto Cho tightly as she slowly finished crying. "I know you love me, but it just felt absolutely horrible to see that. It was the doubt placed in my mind more than anything else." She wiped her eyes and looked at Cho. "He really understood this whole thing?"

Cho nodded and said, "It surprised me. When I told him I expected him to just be shocked and want to have nothing to do with us. Instead all he said was, 'I understand. That's why you felt a little distant the entire time. I really do wish you and Hermione the best of luck. Everyone deserves to be happy'. I think he simply liked me enough that simply my being happy was his only wish for me. It was nice to finally be able to say that I love you to someone our age and hear them say something like that."

Hermione smiled slightly and said, "I think though, that the doubt is still going to be on my mind for a while. I love you, but part of me is still worried that you're going to leave me."

Cho gave Hermione a gentle kiss and quietly said, "I don't even want to hear you thinking about me leaving you. That's something I'll never do."

The memory slowly faded again as Hermione once more pulled them out of the Pensieve.

"But she did leave you. Despite everything you two said, you didn't stay together." Ron said quietly as he noticed Hermione was holding back tears.

"It was Cedric's death that finally tore Cho and I apart. She hadn't meant to, but I think a part of Cho's heart fell for Cedric during the Yule Ball. Everything seemed to spiral right out of control after Harry came back with Cedric's body and we all learned that he had died." Hermione said quietly. "I'm not going to relive that. You remember how she was after that though. Cho was a wreck afterward. I think, part of it was the fact that Cedric had only wanted her to be happy and by letting her go he managed to keep part of her with him. Letting go of Cho was the hardest thing I've ever done."

Ron looked at Hermione and said, "You can simply tell me, instead of having to relive all of this. I can see it still hurts, even after all this time."

Hermione smiled slightly and said, "Fifth Year. Literally the first week of it. That's when Cho and I finally broke it off. Part of it was what happened during Fourth Year and the other part of it was Umbridge's fault. We got caught in Fifth Year by her during one of our walks out on the lake. Even then we both knew it was already going to end soon. Umbridge simply told us to end it or she would."

"So it wasn't entirely your choice then." Ron said trying to think it through.

"No. We were going to end it that evening anyway. We had talked about it and knew that that was going to be our last walk by the lake as a couple. At least we left on good terms with each other." Hermione said with a slight smile.

A rustling noise came through the window as an Owl flew into the house, disrupting the mood. It dropped a letter into Hermione's hands and then flew off.

"Who's that from?" Ron said as he looked at the note.

Hermione stared at it and then quietly said, " I can't believe it. It's from Cho. I haven't gotten an owl from her since Fourth Year. I wonder why she's sent me this."

Hermione opened the letter and inside on a piece of parchment the letter read, 'I know I haven't sent you anything in years but I wanted to send you this. Please, come see me in Diagon Alley this Friday. I'll explain why I sent you this then. Signed, Cho Chang.'

Hermione still stared at the letter as she read it twice more. After a couple of minutes she handed it to Ron. Ron read the note and said, "Why, after all this time does she send you something like this?"

"I don't know. I want to find out though. Besides, there are still some things we never really resolved from when we were still together." Hermione said as she looked at the parchment again. "Seeing everything as it once was has me thinking about it all again and I'm finding I'm wishing things had gone differently."

Ron sighed and said, "You know. When you first told me about this I thought you were raving mad. Having seen what you've shown me though I've come to see that there really was another side of you none of us ever expected. You should go and see her. I'm not going to stop you. You have to do what your heart tells you to do. I think that's what Dumbledore was really saying about everything. Looking back at it he's really was a brilliant genius."

Hermione gave Ron a hug and said, "Thank you. For everything. You really don't mind that all of that is in my past, do you?"

"You said I wouldn't understand until I saw everything. I think that now, I really do understand. You fell in love with someone and had it all fall apart right in front of you. You've been through something that I can only begin to imagine at how hard it was. I just want you to be happy. After all, that's why I married you." Ron said with a smile.

Hermione gave him a kiss. "Now that you know, I think it's time I told Harry as well. I guess, after all this time I should have told you earlier. Maybe it was right of me to wait though."

Ron smiled and said, "You did what you thought was best for everyone. You've always been like that. I don't think I would have taken this as well as I have if I had been younger."

The rest of the day went smoothly eve with Hermione thinking about Cho's letter. After all these years it surprised Hermione to get something like that. Friday was only two days away and the wait was going to annoy Hermione. She wanted to know why Cho had sent her this now instead of years ago. Her dreams that night were of the years during school when she had been with Cho and not of the usual ones she had been having since.

Friday came around and Hermione went out to The Leakey Cauldron and entered into the hidden place that was Diagon Alley. She hadn't been back here in over a week. As she walked up the road, a familiar voice said, "It's good to see you again, Hermione."

Hermione turned to see Cho standing there with a smile on her face. "It's good to see you too Cho. I feel like asking you everything at once but I know you'll probably want to find somewhere to talk."

"If you don't mind, we can talk as we simply go for a walk through Diagon Alley." Cho said as they started to wander down the street. "You know, this reminds me of those walks down by the lake at school. How we always used to talk about things."

"Why did you send the owl after all this time?" Hermione asked, hoping she would get a decent answer.

Cho smiled and said, "I wanted to see you again. It's been so long since the fight with Voldemort that I was forgetting what you looked like. That and I wanted to know why things never fixed themselves between us. I mean, I know there were things we never could have fixed but I just...want to know why we didn't try harder to stay together."

Hermione sighed and said, "I think we both just knew that, even if we had tried to fix everything it just wouldn't have been like it once was. We would have always known that there was something between us." She paused for a minute and then said, "I told Ron. More like showed him, actually."

Cho shot Hermione a surprised look. "You used a Pensieve to show him what was between us? Wasn't it hard on you, having to relive all of that? I mean, I know I wouldn't have been able to."

"It was hard to see it all over again. It was more knowing how it all was going to end that made it horrible." Hermione said as they finally found a small quiet place to sit.

Cho looked at Hermione and said, "You know, I haven't stopped loving you. Even after all this time and after everything that has happened. I just wish there was some way we could take back the time during the Yule Ball. I know that's where it all really started."

"We really did fail Dumbledore. We weren't able to continue to be together. You're right though. It was the whole thing surrounding the Yule Ball that tore us apart in the end. That stupid git Umbridge didn't help matters much either." Hermione said quietly. "I don't think you left my heart either. After showing Ron all of the memories of us I realized that I still cared for you."

"Not much we can do about it though. You're married and I'm headed that way." Cho said with a sigh. "I guess, part of me just wanted to see you again. I'm glad you came to see me. I wasn't sure what you would think of the owl after all this time."

"I almost didn't come. Ron was the one who told me I needed to do what my heart told me to. He figures that was what Dumbledore was trying to tell us." Hermione said as she looked up at the clouds passing by.

"Maybe we didn't fail him after all then. Our hearts both told us it was time to let go of each other and we did." Cho said as she watched the various wizards and witches go by. "You know, I haven't told anyone about what was between you and me since I told Cedric. Sometimes, when I'm at work or at home, I'll find myself thinking about you and about the past. I guess, letting took a lot longer than I thought it did."

Hermione smiled and said, "I don't think we ever really let go of each other. We just realized that we couldn't continue to be together. That doesn't mean we simply stopped loving each other. It just meant we knew that we couldn't be together like we once thought we could. Ron said it was weird hearing us say things like 'I won't leave you' and yet we ended up having to."

Cho gave Hermione a gentle hug and said, "It's hard to think about all of this. One of these days we should get together with our memories of the past and watch it all over again. Even though I imagine it would be really hard for us, it would be a very interesting story to watch after all this time."

"Yes, we should. Besides, there still one more person I want to tell." Hermione said as she returned Cho's hug.

"You're going to tell Harry, aren't you?" Cho asked as she stared at Hermione.

"I just want him to know. He's been a great friend and of everyone that was friends with me there that didn't know, I think he deserves to hear it." Hermione said as she blushed slightly under Cho's stare.

The two of them got up from the bench they had been sitting on and as they began to walk away Cho gently hugged Hermione and gave her a kiss. Hermione was surprised by, just like it had surprised her the first time Cho had kissed her. This time she let herself sink into the kiss and returned it with the passion their kisses had once held. The kiss slowly broke and Hermione smiled at Cho. "You're still a great kisser and you still know how to surprise me." Hermione said as they walked back to the Leakey Cauldron.

"I kind of felt like seeing you again wouldn't be worth it if I didn't get to do that once more." Cho said as they walked out of the Leakey Cauldron and out into Muggle London.

They exchanged goodbyes and promises of letters as they went their separate ways. Hermione wanted to take the long way home to think about things. As she walked she bumped into someone and immediately said, "Oh! I'm so sorry sir. I wasn't watching where I was going."

The person she had bumped into turned and said, "That's okay Hermione. I know how you like to get lost in your own thoughts."

Hermione was surprised and said, "Harry! It's good to see you again. What brings you down to London?"

Harry smiled and said, "Oh nothing much really. James and Albus got into a scuffle and one of their books was destroyed in the process so I came down to get a new one."

Hermione laughed at this and then said, "You know. There's something I've been meaning to tell you. Something about when we were at school. Something that I think you should know."

Harry looked at her confused and then said, "Sure Hermione. What is it you want to tell me?"

Hermione smiled and began to tell Harry about Cho and about the memory within the Pensieve that she wanted him to see. As Harry accepted her offer to come over, she knew that it wouldn't be so hard seeing it all over again. She knew in her heart that she would always love Cho and that the feelings between them hadn't really ended when she thought they had.

(Author's note: So, here I am at the last chapter. This was certainly at lot longer than anything else I've written so far. Hopefully everyone who has read this has enjoyed it. Like most readers I don't like to see stories end but everything has to end sooner or later. Read and enjoy. A new story will be on its way soon. Thank you to everyone who commented , read and generally kept me writing this story."

**Shinobi of the Onyx Sands**


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